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Hosts Australia got the ODI series against Pakistan at home to a winning start. At the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia suffered a batting collapse but skipper Pat Cummins' unbeaten 31-ball 32 helped them get over the line. They chased down the target of 204 with just two wickets in hand and 16.3 overs to spare. The approach from the top-order batters did not leave former Australia wicketkeeper-batter Ian Healy amused. Healy wants the team
“We have a lot to learn,” Healy stated on SENQ. “We’re gearing up for the Champions Trophy, so there aren’t many opportunities left before a final team has to be selected.
“We should be playing these games properly, but they’re treating it like a schoolyard. It wasn’t good enough. We won, but just barely, with 17 overs to spare. Gone is the ability to just knock it around. Josh Inglis and Steve Smith had to slow things down, and even they got out playing false shots.Our shot selection was poor, and Matt Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk played like schoolyard bullies."
'Disregard for conditions was unacceptable'
Healy was left baffled by batters trying to slog every ball. They criticised them for not respecting the conditions and even ignoring what Mitchell Starc said during the innings break. Healy feels that the egos of Australian batters barring Steve Smith, Josh Inglis and Cummins are too big to play according to the situation
“The disregard for conditions was unacceptable. The bowlers, including Mitch Starc, said during the innings break that the pitch was two-paced and uneven in bounce. So what do we do? We try to slog the Pakistani bowlers all over the place. The batters didn’t learn anything from what the bowlers told them; they didn’t respect the opposition enough," he added.
“When Pakistan’s bowlers got on a roll, they were hard to stop. The Australian boys’ egos couldn’t be set aside for even half an hour. Inglis and Smith showed restraint, and then Pat Cummins had to as well.”
Early wickets and collapse
In the run chase, Short fell to Shaheen Afridi for a single-digit score. Fraser-McGurk became Naseem Shah's wicket in in the fourth over. Smith and Inglis' partnership lasted 85 runs. Marnus Labuschagne, Aaron Hardie and Glenn Maxwell could not do much damage as Pakistan made a comeback in the low-scoring affair.
It will be interesting to see how Australian batters approach the second ODI at Adelaide Oval on November 8.
