Thaindian News

Melbourne, March 25 (IANS) A day after the champions crashed out of the World Cup, an Australian analyst said Friday that Australia simply did not have the batsmen to match India’s.

“Our problem now is we don’t have the batsmen to match it with a side like India on the international stage,” said Jon Anderson, writing in the Herald Sun.

“They (India) had seven potential matchwinners in their batting line-up while we still don’t know what our best top seven is,” he said.

“Cameron White earns well over $1 million a year for doing what? Surely Callum Ferguson should have been given a chance when it was clear White was out of sorts,” the paper said.

“Michael Hussey has had more than enough chances and at 35 is hardly the future of the game. But the sad part is we don’t have batsmen knocking the door down.

“Ussie Khawaya made 30 odd in his first Test and we thought we had uncovered the next (Ricky) Ponting while Steve Smith, exciting talent that he is, has a technique that requires urgent tightening if he is to succeed on the international stage.

“Simon Katich is a good tough cricketer but he’s the same age as Mike Hussey. So who are the next generation?”

Anderson’s stringing comments came after India crushed Australia by five wickets in a quarterfinal in Ahmedabad. A disappointed Ponting, who scored a century, admitted that Australia lost to a better team.

Australian have won the last three World Cups.

Anderson went on: “As far as spinners are concerned, we are in an awful state. At the time we didn’t fully appreciate players such as Tim May and Colin Miller, yet both would walk into today’s team.”