Ponting highlights lack of middle-order specialists as Australia’s Achilles’ heel ahead of T20 WC 2021

Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting reckoned that the Aussies middle-order in the T20 format doesn’t have the skillsets to adjust with the match conditions. Australia’s batting has been found wanting in recent times as the team has won only four out of 15 T20Is this year. Recently, they lost eight out of 10 matches on their tour of the West Indies and Bangladesh.

Barring Mitchell Marsh, who became the leading run-scorer in both the series, the other Aussie batters looked clueless for most part. On the slow and low pitches where run-scoring was a tough task, the Australian batsmen found it tough to get going. The Aussies have already named the squad for the T20 World Cup to be played in the United Arab Emirates.

A number of their players, including Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell and others, who didn’t go to Bangladesh and West Indies, have returned. Aaron Finch, who underwent knee surgery last month, has also been picked for the mega event.

However, Ponting feared that even their return might not solve Australia’s middle order woes. Ponting put forth his opinions while speaking on Perth radio station SEN’s ‘Gilly and Goss’ program

Ricky Ponting opines

“All the batters in our T20 team bat one, two or three for their Big Bash teams and inevitably they become the leading runs scorers at the end of every Big Bash so they get picked for Australia,” Ponting said.

“But who bats at five or six for their Big Bash team every game who’s in the current Australian team? There’s no-one.”

“If I think of the best finishers I’ve seen – (West Indies captain) Kieron Pollard, M S Dhoni, Hardik Pandya (both India) – where have their batted their whole lives in the T20 game? In those slots, so that’s just their game,” he stated.

“But we just don’t have many of those guys who are dominating the back of Big Bash games where you can say ‘right, you’re going to be listed to bat at number six today and if you get 15 balls, we know you’ll get 30’. So, again, that will potentially be our Achilles heel,” Ponting added

For the T20 World Cup, the Aussies have called up Josh Inglis, who bats in the top and middle-order for the Perth Scorchers in the BBL. Dan Christian, Nathan Ellis and Daniel Sams have been picked as reserves.