Former Australian legend Adam Gilchrist is unhappy after Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood’s remarks on the Australian batters during the first test at Perth.
Australia lost the wickets of opener Nathan McSweeney and number 3 Marnus Labuschagne late on Day 3 of the first test. Hazlewood was asked about Australia’s approach in the first Border-Gavaskar Test at Perth.
To which, he replied, “You probably have to ask one of the batters that question. I’m probably looking mostly towards the next Test”. It was a surprising answer from the Aussie quick and there have been speculations about a possible ‘divide’ in the Aussie dressing room.
This remark shows the frustration of the Aussie players after the loss in the first test. Former England captain Michael Vaughan said that this comment from Hazlewood has created a divide between the Australian batters and bowlers.
Vaughan said, “Publicly, I’ve never heard an Australian divide the camp into batters and bowlers like that. It’s unusual to hear an Australian cricketer publicly shift focus to the next game before this one is finished”.
“ I wonder if there’s a divide in the Australian team between batters and bowlers”: Adam Gilchrist
Former Australian great Adam Gilchrist said, “I wonder· if there’s a divide in Andrew McDonald’s (Australian head coach) team between the batters and bowlers”.
Gilchrist also highlighted Hazlewood’s odd tone while answering the question.
India won the first test by 295 runs thanks to an excellent team effort led by Jasprit Bumrah and the bowlers. It’s their biggest win margin against Australia in Australia. The Australian batters failed to make an impact with the bat at Perth. The likes of Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja looked clueless against the Indian pacers.
Travis Head scored 89 runs in the second inning. Mitchell Marsh (47 runs) and Alex Carey (36 runs) showed a little promise for the hosts.
The second test of the series will start on 6th December 2024 at the Adelaide Oval.
