Melbourne, March 9 (PTI) head coach Justin Langer said Tuesday that Australia was “really weak” at failing to maintain their overspending in the Melbourne Test against India, which eventually cost them a spot in the World Test Championship final.
Australia were penalized with four WTC points because they were two overs behind in the second test of the four-game series.
India recently beat England 3-1 in a home testing streak to play a WTC final against New Zealand in June and Australia could have qualified instead of the Kiwis had it not been for that slow penalty.
“That may be the silliest thing I ever said, but our manager Gavin Dovey … he was gone, he went home for Christmas to be with his family,” Langer told SEN.
“It was only after the game that we found out that our over rate had dropped. Well, that’s really easy for us.”
In the WTC rating, New Zealand was 0.3 percent ahead of Australia, which had decided not to travel to South Africa for a test series due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I remember being in the team room afterwards and talking to Painey (skipper Tim Paine) and Dene Hills, our analyst, about it. I was a bit grumpy and thought to myself, imagine this would give us the test- World Cup cost, “said Langer.
“And I later told the players that two overs down could cost us the World Test Championship, so we have to improve that and make sure it doesn’t happen in Sydney and Brisbane.”
“It’s very disappointing, but the lesson is the things that we can control, that we have to control. And we can’t relax for a second in test cricket.”
With India hosting the T20 World Cup later this year, Langer said the performances of IPl-linked Australian players in the T20 league will be taken into account when selecting the team for the ICC event.
“For some of our players there is no better showcase. They play under the same conditions (as in the World Cup). We will watch that very closely and see who does well,” said Langer.
“It’s a great opportunity for many players. They can play a lot of cricket under pressure, which is only good for them and us together.”
The IPL will be held in six locations in India from April 9th to May 30th.
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