Aaron Finch highlights Australia’s middle order troubles, saying that ” Khawaja, Mitch Marsh, and bowlers have got Australia out of jail.”

Mitch Marsh is contributing as well.

All I can see, technically speaking, is that he seems to be avoiding his right shoulder just a little bit. His back foot defends the ball to cover, point, or even drop it to his feet; in essence, he’s just squaring up a little bit on the balls that are that back-of-a-length instead of staying side-on as he does. This is why he’s messing about a little in front of himself to shift it to a second, third, gully area. He is, once again, a really gifted player.

He’s going to depart right away, work on it, and then head to New Zealand. One cannot ignore Marnus. He is batting at number three, which is one of the hardest locations in Test cricket to bat at. Don’t be shocked if he plays against New Zealand and scores the most runs for the squad. According to Clarke, practically all outstanding batters go through this phase.

In a three-match home Test series between December 2023 and January 2024, Australia easily defeated Pakistan, but their batting unit was put to the test on a few occasions. The Caribbean pacers posed a challenge to Australia’s batting line, particularly in the middle order, during the just-finished two-match Test series against the West Indies. The series was tied 1-1 at the end.

Australian batsmen have only amassed two centuries between them in the last five Test matches. They originated from David Warner’s and Travis Head’s blades. In their most recent match, Australia lost by eight runs after a stunning collapse of 8 for 94 in their chase of 216 against the West Indies. Before Khawaja, Alex Carey, and Pat Cummins salvaged the innings, they had also been reduced to 54/5 in the opening innings.

Against the West Indies, the often dependable Marnus Labuschagne has been going through a difficult time. In the three innings played, he scored just eighteen runs. His season average is a pitiful 28.25. In the meantime, Head played the second Test at the Gabba and recorded a king pair. He did score an incredible 119 against the West Indies in the opening Test, but in the next five Tests, he was unable to surpass 40 in the remaining innings.

“Remember that Usman Khawaja and the bowlers have both helped them get out of jail on a few occasions. and in that sense, these are not particularly impressive figures for a middle order that I believe has a lot of promise. I’m concerned about the hundreds column. It’s not like they’re averaging six; guys are getting starts, and the stats indicate that,” Aaron Finch said on ESPN’s Around the Wicket program.

Everyone will experience awful series in two tests, like Marnus Labuschagne, but there aren’t enough hundreds to make it acceptable. There are certain gaps that Usman Khawaja and the bowlers, who have performed admirably for a long period, have covered up,” Mitch Marsh continued.

Marnus Labuschagne appears to be a little more square-shouldered. Michael Clarke

Michael Clarke, a different former captain of Australia, identified a technical shortcoming in Labuschagne. The former cricket player turned pundit claimed that Labuschagne is going out caught at slips or at gully because he is getting squared up to deliveries that are back of a length rather than staying side-on. Though he acknowledged that all batters had tough patches, Clarke predicted that he would return to form for Australia’s upcoming two-match Test series against New Zealand in February and March.

All I can see, technically speaking, is that he seems to be avoiding his right shoulder just a little bit. His back foot defends the ball to cover, point, or even drop it to his feet; in essence, he’s just squaring up a little bit on the balls that are that back-of-a-length instead of staying side-on as he does. This is why he’s messing about a little in front of himself to shift it to a second, third, gully area. He is, once again, a really gifted player.

He’s going to depart right away, work on it, and then head to New Zealand. One cannot ignore Marnus. He is batting at number three, which is one of the hardest locations in Test cricket to bat at. Don’t be shocked if he plays against New Zealand and scores the most runs for the squad. According to Clarke, practically all outstanding batters go through this phase.

“Consider that his strike rate has also demonstrated that. You start thinking defensively, putting survival first and thinking, “I’ll cash in later.” Regarding Labuschagne’s troubles, Finch said, “But the wickets they’ve been playing on, you don’t get that opportunity to cash in—it’s not like they flatten out and become absolute roads and you can bat for two days; we just don’t see that anymore.”

Callum Ferguson noted that Labuschagne is not the only Australian batter receiving criticism in the meantime. The former stated that batting won’t be simple in the seamer-friendly conditions that are common in New Zealand and that the Australians will need to correct their technical shortcomings before the tour.

“Don’t assume that Marnus is the only player who gets caught off guard while squaring up; this is sometimes the consequence of batting on wickets that are favorable to bowlers. You just get a little bit out of shape, so before they travel to New Zealand, they will need to put in a lot of work to get a few more sides on and start playing a little later. Because of the seaming and swinging conditions in New Zealand, where they excel at making the most of certain pitches, Ferguson stated.