Former England captain Michael Vaughan said, 'Clearly, if you take the two best players out of any team they will struggle. But losing Smith and Warner is an easy excuse to hide behind. India were beaten 4-1 in English conditions last summer, although the matches were closer than the final score suggests, but would have beaten Australia 3-1 had it not rained in Sydney for the last two days'
Sydney: Former England captain Michael Vaughan has said Australia’s problems won’t be solved even if the banned duo of Steve Smith and David Warner return to the squad.
If Australia think that things will be “rosy” after Smith and Warner’s return, then “they are kidding themselves”, wrote Vaughan in his column in The Daily Telegraph.
"If you think Australia's problems will be solved the moment Steve Smith and David Warner are available for selection again then you are wrong... Batting, bowling, selection and tactics were poor against India, and Australia have to admit they were just not good enough," wrote Vaughan.
Also read: India make history with maiden Test series win in Australia
"Clearly, if you take the two best players out of any team they will struggle. But losing Smith and Warner is an easy excuse to hide behind. India were beaten 4-1 in English conditions last summer, although the matches were closer than the final score suggests, but would have beaten Australia 3-1 had it not rained in Sydney for the last two days," he added.
Virat Kohli and his men registered a historic Test series win Down Under. This was their maiden Test rubber triumph in 71 years. India had first visited the Australian shores in 1947-48.
Also read: Ricky Ponting slams Australian team
Smith and Warner are currently serving one-year bans for their roles in the ball-tampering scandal which hit the Australian team in 2018 during the South Africa tour.
Vaughan said Australia won’t be able to beat England in the Ashes this year after the World Cup.
"...unless they assess themselves brutally. Batting techniques have to be better and they need to be more consistent with the ball. Every facet of their Test team has to improve. They are kidding themselves if they think everything will be rosy when Smith and Warner come back.
"On flat, good batting pitches, Australia really struggled as it is on those tracks that weaknesses are highlighted. A batting unit's defences are tested because it is necessary to bat for long periods. They look like a team who can score 250-300, and that is good enough on sporting pitches, but not when it is flat," he opined.
The former skipper also said Australia’s bowling against India was not good.
"The bowling is not as good as they think. They are very good when conditions are in their favour or well ahead in the game. But there is room for them to become a much more skilful and consistent bowling attack.
"For the Ashes this summer, Australia have to look at breaking up Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins. They need a more skilful bowler, such as a Peter Siddle or Trent Copeland. They need someone who can match England's consistency and skill with the Duke ball and bowl the fuller length," he said.
Vaughan said the support staff must be blamed for the below-par bowling performance.
"A ridiculously low percentage of balls bowled by Australia against India were going on to hit the stumps. They took only one wicket lbw in the whole series.
"The bowlers and the coaching staff have to take the blame for that and ask how they can improve. To beat England in England, they have to bowl more intelligently," he added.
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