BGT – Aus vs Ind 1st Test – Frazzled Australia searched for answers

India were 104 for no loss, leading by 150, on the same surface on which they had been bowled out for 150 just 24 hours earlier. The same pitch on which Australia had been bowled out for 104 earlier in the day.

It was the same annoyed look Starc had cut before tea when he bowled round the wicket to Jaiswal with four men in the deep with a 22-over old ball.

It was the same irritation he had shown the night before at the post-day press conference when he bristled at the idea that the pitch was too spicy to hit.

“The bowlers are allowed to bowl good balls,” Starc said. “There’s a lot of talk when there are a lot of runs, it’s like the bowlers bowled badly. When there are wickets, (the pitches) are tough. You’re allowed to bowl good balls. Maybe the credit should go to the bowlers of both teams. .”

Starc was right to be frustrated by it all as he has been one of their standout performers over two poor days with both bat and ball. He had survived almost the same number of deliveries as the entire top six of Australia combined while batting on this track.

But it is rare to see this Australian unit so despondent. Calm and consistent is their mantra. They have been anything but. They will never say it publicly, but there is no doubt that Starc and his fellow bowlers were frustrated with the batting unit. These types of tensions arise all the time in cricket teams around the world. That was clearly there today, exacerbated by the wonderfully controlled partnership between Jaiswal and KL Rahul, who deserve a huge amount of credit for grinding down some excellent bowling over a long spell with outstanding decision-making and execution.

But honestly, Starc and Josh Hazlewood aside, Australia’s side haven’t looked very sharp overall.

Cummins epitomizes this lack of sharpness. He came in deliberately undercooked. He was the only one of the three fast bowlers not to play a Sheffield Shield match before the Test series. He said before the Test that he prefers to be tested ahead of a big series.

It has been shown over two days. He has been the most expensive of the fast and the least threatening.

The opposition captain, Jasprit Bumrah, had barely overpitched in 18.2 overs of flawless bowling to tear through Australia’s batting line-up. Cummins’ lengths were not nearly as accurate by comparison. He is one of the few bowlers in the game to have been run down the ground on multiple occasions.

He dropped Rishabh Pant on the 26th on the first day and failed to take a review that would have dismissed Nitish Kumar Reddy on the 11th after burning two reviews earlier on frivolous appeals.

He bowled a bouncer late on the second afternoon that went for five wides. It’s rare to see Cummins perform so far below its lofty benchmark.

Australia’s fielding has not been flawless either. Khawaja has dropped two chances over two days. One costs very little, the price of the other still counts.

Right after his miss, Steven Smith had a run-out chance after a mix-up between Jaiswal and Rahul. But Smith’s throw to the non-striker was wide and wild, giving Nathan Lyon no chance to collect cleanly.

McDonald presented a picture of composure, despite how his team had performed.

“Morale is always good,” McDonald said. “It’s a pretty level team, whether it’s a good day or a bad day. We’ve got some issues to sort out ahead of us. There’s no doubt we’re clearly way behind at this stage.”

McDonald showed stronger defense than his batters had the day before, deadly questions about his team’s body language and the fact that his bowling coach, Daniel Vettori, was on the other side of the world preparing for the IPL auction with another employer after bowlers had gone wicketless through 57 overs.

“In terms of the way we bowled, I think it wasn’t too dissimilar (yesterday),” McDonald said. “Potentially, early on, we could have been a fraction below, if I had to be critical, but I thought they did a good job.” Beneath the calm exterior, however, it’s clear that the change in pitch conditions has confounded a team meticulous in its planning, with the ball-tracking data they base a lot of their plans around suggesting that swing and seam movement had all but disappeared by the end of day two.

“The surface looked significantly drier today, it dried out pretty quickly,” McDonald said. “We thought there might have been a little bit more there. I suppose if you want to say we’re a bit surprised, well, there wasn’t as much seam movement or swing and I think the bowlers presented that same in the same way as yesterday.”

Australia have three days to avoid irritation turning to despair and there is plenty of cricket left in this series to fight back.

But cracks are appearing in Perth. Just not the kind they were hoping for.