Australia’s T20 World Cup approach apathetic at best as former greats pile on criticism

Australia’s embarrassing early exit from the Twenty20 World Cup has been met with a wail of criticism from former players over selection and preparation, but barely raised a whimper from cricket fans. Former national cricket captain Kim Hughes has urged Cricket Australia to appoint Perth Scorchers mentor Adam Voges as a specialist white-ball coach, allowing Test coach Andrew McDonald to focus on the longer format, as the team loses its grip on a guaranteed start at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. Bowling great Glenn McGrath said the “aura of that Australian team is no longer” and that team selection was “all over the place” after losses to Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka in the International Cricket Council tournament played on the subcontinent. Former international, West Australian Brad Hogg said there were “no excuses whatsoever”. Hughes was captain of an Australian side that suffered a shock loss to Zimbabwe in a 50-over game in 1983, despite boasting a line up that featured Allan Border, Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson, Rod Marsh and David Hookes. “I have had a few nightmares lately remembering that game,” Hughes told The West Australian. “I’ve been trying to forget it. All I know is it was a f…..g disaster and you had to cop it.” That 1983 loss dominated the media landscape, with mainstream newspapers devoting spreads to a defeat by a minnow cricket nation that had only gained independence three years earlier. Australia’s departure from this World T20 Cup, on the back of losses to Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, might have been met with shock and despair by former players, but the public response has been a low-level grizzle at worst. It was always going to be a hard sell coming off the back of massive viewing audiences and attendances for the summer’s Ashes series and with the AFL season fast approaching, but it wasn’t helped by Australia’s early exit and the decision by the governing International Cricket Council to sell the rights to Prime Video. While audience figures are not yet available, social media has been dominated by reports of glitching, with no pre or post-game shows. The result also risks Australia’s place in cricket’s long-awaited return to the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028. Australia entered the tournament comfortably ahead of New Zealand at No. 3 in the world T20 rankings that will determine automatic qualification places at the end of the tournament, but is expected to slide significantly with only six nations including hosts America to play in LA. Australia’s embarrassing exit at the group stage was confirmed late on Tuesday night when Zimbabwe’s match with Ireland was washed out, ensuring the 2021 champions could not finish higher than third in their pool. West Australian Mitch Marsh, captain of the team who made a half century against Sri Lanka, will now have to lead his players in a final dead-rubber match against Oman in Kandy early on Saturday morning before departing the subcontinent more than a fortnight before the final in Ahmedabad. WA pair Cameron Green and Cooper Connolly, on the back of a celebrated Big Bash with the ball, failed to fire. “At some point you have got to repay the faith of the selectors,” former Australian quick Jason Gillespie said. “And right now Cooper Connolly, and I think to a lesser extent Cameron Green, they’re just not repaying the absolute faith that has been given.” Hughes believes Green, who is scheduled to return to the subcontinent to play in the Indian Premier League, could do with a break. And he said Steve Smith, who was left out of the initial squad, called up last week, flown to Sri Lanka but is yet to play, should have remained in his new home base of New York. “Steve Smith had a really good summer again, but leave him in New York. Steve Smith and T20 cricket don’t go together,” he said. English broadcaster Piers Morgan, who was pilloried for predicting a 5-0 win to the tourists in the Ashes, had no sympathy for Australia. “My thoughts with CricketAus at this very difficult time,” Morgan sarcastically posted on X, with an emoji that showed hands praying.