Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has hit out at the hosts' batters following a dismal day one performance against Bangladesh in the ongoing first Test, adding that their early season rustiness meant they were outplayed and outwitted by the visitors' bowling line-up. Australia were bowled out for a paltry 198 after opting to bat first, with Bangladesh pacer Hasan Mahmud tearing through the lineup with figures of 6-55. Now with Bangladesh's lead crossing 150, it meant the focus is back on Australia's shoddy batting performance, where barring Steve Smith (71), no one made a notable contribution.
"There was a lot of early-season rustiness, they haven't played for a long time, but you can't excuse some of the technical issues and flaws we saw from the top order in particular. I was surprised Australia actually chose to bat, especially with Bangladesh coming off just 54 in the warm-up game.
“The Australian seamers on that wicket yesterday morning would have been near-on unplayable. A few eyebrows raised when Australia did decide to bat. But when you win the toss and decide to bat everyone is expecting a few more than 190 against an attack like that," Ponting said on SEN's Fireball.
Calling out the national selectors for being hesitant to transition towards youngsters, Ponting pointed out that Australia have fielded their oldest Test side since 1928, with all-rounder Cameron Green (27) being the sole under-30 player.
"I still feel like they missed an opportunity in these couple of games to look at some younger talent that we've got in Australia. I know the Sheffield Shield numbers aren't outstanding for our young batters, but I think we might have to look a bit deeper than just what the numbers suggest.
“Go with a bit of gut-feel and pick on talent because what we've got in the current side now - and it has been for a couple of years - has not looked up to the mark of Test cricket level. It (change) is going to happen.
“They've got 21 Tests coming up until the end of the World Test Championship (WTC) - they're at home to New Zealand, they're away to South Africa, they're away to India. Inevitably they'll be going through 16-18 players in this next little run. So I think organically it will start to happen where guys will be coming in and out just to try and manage them through until the end of it," he noted.
Addressing whether a potential defeat to Bangladesh would force structural changes, Ponting stated, "You would like to think so. This group has been so tight. I don't know if they're scared of making change, or deep down they know that there might not be anything better that's waiting underneath.
“It's been at least 12 months where they have had the opportunity to make changes, especially with the batting group. They have a lot of work to do, there's a long way to go in this game, and right now I'm not sure what the odds suggest. I still think Australia should still be favourites even though yesterday went as badly as it did.
“They'll get a chance to bat on the wicket when it's at it's absolute best. That's when we'll see if these guys are actually up to it, because if they're not up to it in the second innings then maybe it is time to have a look at someone else."
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