Batting Disgrace - What's to Blame?

Yet again Australia has hit a new low in Test cricket and our batsmen are to blame. After dismissing New Zealand for a lowly 150 in the first innings, Australia were in a good position. The bowlers had done the job and now it was time for the batsmen to do theirs.  And this is where the problem was.  Put our batsmen on a good deck and generally they can put on a good score.  Put them on a pitch and in conditions where it is favourable to the bowlers and it all falls apart.  Watching the way wickets fell was embarrassing and all too familiar. All out for 136. Look at the batsmen one by one and it is easy to start seeing where the problems are.

Dead Man Walking

Hughes - Surely now the selectors (Captain included) must be ready to admit that this guy is not of standard and way out of form.  He is the most depressed looking cricketer I have seen and looks about as solid in batting as Chris Martin does at number 11.  Regardless of the second innings he must be sent back to Shield cricket.
Warner - Yes this guy can hit a ball and score runs quick and has had some brilliant innings in the short formats of the game.  This is the problem, here is a batsmen who has been picked on his ability to play on lifeless pitches, opening in Test cricket is very rarely ever going to be on a dead pitch.  He has talent but why have selectors gone away from picking batsmen who have scored a bag of runs in Shield cricket.
Khawaja - Definitely has talent and ever since I saw his first test innings I liked what I saw.  Only problem is I think they are playing him in the wrong spot.  Patience needs to be held with him in the same way patience was held with Steve Waugh.  Put him down at 5 or 6 and take a bit of pressure off him.  Putting him at 1st drop at the moment with Hughes and Warner and he may as well open the batting.
Ponting - His time has come, tap him on the shoulder and tell him this is his last test match. He may have scored some runs at the Gabba but his continual ability to be dismissed LBW the same way almost every innings shows he is not able to change his game.  His footwork is slow and he is on the back foot too much. And to start walking before the umpire puts his finger up for an LBW decision is a sign he knows how bad it is.
Clarke - Actually in some form with the bat but still getting out to poor shots or in the last case a poor leave.  I never like seeing a batsmen bowled shouldering arms, especially when the ball is moving about.  Looked poor and was poor.
Hussey - He might be Mr Cricket but of late he is not reliable.  Only a few tests ago he was our form batsmen but can't seem to take a trick of late.  On his day he can be great but I have a feeling this will be his last summer of cricket if he does not get a big score soon.
Haddin - Yet again gets caught out at mid off playing a foolish shot when quick runs were not needed.  Time to find a keeper who can bat a bit but has excellent glovework, as yet again Haddin is not taking balls cleanly.  Glovework aside though, Haddin rarely puts in an innings when his team really needs it.
Tail End - At the start of the Gabba test many comments were made about the length of the tail, yet it is the tail putting the top order to shame.

Why is it that Australia cannot bat on a bowler friendly pitch?  Once selected for Australia you will very rarely see a player play 4 day cricket for his state.  When not playing tests they are playing one-dayers & twenty20 games which are in general on pitches where the batsmen know that they can play their shots and throw there wicket away chasing runs.  When they do have a chance to play shield games a rest is usually taken due to the hectic schedule they claim to have.  Our test cricketers do not get back to play enough games on a variety of pitches around the country and against a variety of bowlers.  All the net sessions in the world will never replicate a green top wicket.

They say Twenty20 will ruin test cricket and it may well do but it is the selection process and Australia's cricketing setup that will enhance the prospect.  Australian batsmen have lost focus on what test cricket is about. A test is won over 5 days, it is a battle of attrition. It is not a game reliant on big scores scored at 4-5 runs per over.  Bowlers do not need to take a wicket every ball.  Test cricket is about building and maintaining pressure over a long period of time. Test cricket is about having our best team, not picking players the captain likes or maintaining a player because of past records.  It is not a right to wear the baggy green, it is an honour and privilege, just because a player is contracted does not mean he should be selected.