Australia on track under new captain Michael Clarke: Cricket news
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 on their home soil. The Kangaroos have been unable to live up to the expectations of their fans in recent times and look to regain their
lost glory. However, a win against the minnows will not give a true picture of where the team stands in terms of consistency.
The biggest plus in the series for the Australian team was the extraordinary performances by all-rounder Shane Watson. He was impressive with the bat, scoring 294 runs in three outings. His best performance with the bat came in the second One Day International
(ODI), which was played on Monday, 11th April. The flamboyant batsman scored an unbeaten 185 runs off just 96 balls, smashing 15 fours and a record-breaking 15 sixes in one innings.
Apart from his solid performances with the bat, Watson chipped in with three wickets and five catches in the series. The 29-year-old Queenslander is the only player who can be compared to the South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis at the moment.
Many deemed the career of Ricky Ponting to be over after he failed to lead his side to victories in the Ashes series and the ICC World Cup 2011. However, the veteran player scored a century against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 in his last match as the Australian captain, proving
his worth to the critics. He lived up to his reputation of being a big match player, as his ton came in the quarter-final game of the World Cup.
The stylish right-hander resigned from captaincy before the Australian selectors named the squad for the Bangladesh tour. He did a decent job for his team as a player though, scoring 118 runs in three innings.
It is very important for a captain to perform and lead by example. This is exactly what Clarke managed to do for his team. The stylish batsman scored 101 runs in his first game as the full-time captain of Australia and ended-up with 148 runs in two innings.
This was definitely not a bad start to his career as a skipper.
Apart from these players, Michael Hussey did a terrific job for his team with the bat. The consistent player gathered 141 runs in two innings, with a highest score of 108 runs in the final ODI on Wednesday, 13th April.
There were also a couple of disappointments for Australia, as wicketkeeper Brad Haddin and middle-order batsman Cameron White failed to score runs. The keeper batsman had been in good form before this series, but White has seen a serious dip in form over
the past few months. The Kangaroos may look to find a strong replacement for the struggling batsman, keeping the future in mind.
The biggest concern for Australia will be their bowling. The pick of the bowlers for the four-time World champions was Mitchell Johnson, who took seven wickets in the series. Other than the left-handed seamer, there wasn't any impressive performance by the
bowlers.
Although Australia won all three matches in the series, they were unable to bowl the opposition out once. One of the biggest reasons for the lacklustre performance of the Kangaroos bowlers was the lack of a quality spinner. Steve Smith and Xavier Doherty
are not wicket-taking options and they can be expensive against good batting sides.
Overall, the Aussies have a good team but they are lacking balance when it comes to bowling. They will need to hunt some good bowlers in order to regain their dominant form, otherwise winning will be difficult for them against tougher oppositions.
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