‘Won’t put up with it’: Big names facing axe as historic nightmare threatens Aussies

When Steve Smith strides to the crease in Balagolla on Saturday morning, Australia’s kit bags and suitcases will already be packed, their flight tickets home from a diabolical failure confirmed.

There is a clear caveat, of course. Based on the way this doomed T20 World Cup has gone, the superstar might not even get a consolation knock against Oman even though this carnival is over for Australia.

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Further afield, nor can it be said that Smith or any of his teammates are now guaranteed a crack in the five-ring circus that is the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028, given our slumping T20 stocks.

There is water to go under the bridge with the qualifying clauses not yet confirmed, but recent pointers would suggest Australia is in peril given a ranking slide from No.3 at the end of the tournament is certain.

What is known is that only six nations including hosts America will front in the LA Games and Australia could scarcely complain if overlooked having failed to qualify for the Super 8s.

At the very least they will have to improve sharply to earn a spot in the six, let alone contend for a gold medal in the city of angels. A miracle might well be needed for Smith to live out an Olympic dream he said last month would be “pretty cool”.

Not yet articulated but also certain is a reset of the current T20 squad, for Australia’s coaching and selection hierarchy have made it clear it works in cycles targeted around big events like the World Cup.

This was a point made by coach Andrew McDonald after Australia surrendered the World Test Championship at Lord’s last June.

That campaign was not a failure, despite the loss. They made it to the final on sustained excellence.

But this one most certainly is. There are contributing factors, but Australia has been dismal.

SELECTION POLICY TOO RIGID

In the aftermath of the loss to Sri Lanka which condemned Australia, Aussie great Mark Waugh and former opener Simon Katich teed off on the muddled selection process.

How could selection chair George Bailey and panellists McDonald and Tony Dodemaide have left Smith out of the squad initially given his breathtaking Big Bash form?

Once the door was opened through Josh Hazlewood’s inability to recover in time, why wasn’t the in-form batter rushed to Sri Lanka straight away? And once there, why was he left on the sidelines for critical matches?

But even more perplexing to them was the decision to drop Matt Renshaw after his half-century against Zimbabwe.

Sticking fat with stars has been a core philosophy for this panel, but it defied logic to overlook the one bloke who had made a significant score when many of his teammates were clearly out of form.

The misuse of spinners was also highlighted, with the Aussies opting for part-time options including the struggling Cooper Connolly to support Adam Zampa instead of the left-armed specialist Matt Kuhnemann.

Katich and Waugh did not miss. And former Australian coach Darren Lehmann added his expertise to the discussion on Wednesday when declaring; “They’ve got it wrong.”

In an extended interview with renowned cricket journalist Malcolm Conn, who ran communications for the Aussies during Lehmann’s reign as coach, the South Aussie said that there is no doubt the disastrous campaign will prompt an overhaul.

“(They are) quite a loyal selection panel. Once you’re in, you stay in until you have to go. They don’t cut you,” Lehmann told The Australian.

“But I think what will happen now (is) they’ll have to reinvigorate that side and change, because people won’t put up with it.”

BLINDED BY THE SUN

American actor and songwriter Huey Lewis once sang about the future being so bright, he had to wear shades.

At the BBL launch in Melbourne’s Southbank precinct in early October, the same could have been said about the Aussie cricketers decked out in sunglasses who were aiming for this World Cup.

Despite wearing polaroid sunnies, Spencer Johnson was squinting into the sun as he discussed his comeback from a back issue, while not too far away Glenn Maxwell was chatting about a freak accident in New Zealand in a recent white ball series.

At that stage the Aussies were in sound form, having swept a T20 series in the Caribbean before a strong effort against South Africa in the Top End preceding the Kiwi tour.

They had all-round options everywhere and power hitters most teams could only dream of.

With Johnson shaping to make his comeback in the BBL and Maxwell confident of being right for the latter stages of the India white ball series, the vibes were entirely positive.

But it proved to be a mirage. The sun was playing tricks on the Aussies.

Things soured almost immediately.

Hazlewood was marvellous in an MCG outing against India, but not too long after that injured a hamstring and has not played since.

Prior to the injury, he had an economy rate of 6.72 in seven T20s in 2025 and had taken eight powerplay wickets at an average of 15.

At the MCG, he knocked over Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav in a spell so high-class it was scarcely believable. His expertise and experience were badly missed in Sri Lanka.

Johnson, who shaped as the replacement for Mitchell Starc given his retirement from the T20 arena, never did make it back. Maxwell did, but he has failed to find his explosive best and struggled for rhythm and form with the bat.

Ben Dwarshuis, effectively, became the left-arm pace option in the absence of Starc and Johnson but missed selection against Sri Lanka after going wicketless against Zimbabwe.

Xavier Bartlett is a rare talent — Fox Cricket expert Kerry O’Keeffe believes he can play Test cricket — but has looked at sea on spinning decks without Hazlewood guiding him. It has been a painful experience, but one he should learn from.

Nathan Ellis fired against Ireland but was unable to excel in the other two matches. Without the Big Three, the Aussies failed to flatter with the ball in the powerplay in Sri Lanka.

With a view to the future in all formats, it is clear Australia has to keep its fast bowlers healthy in order to succeed, particularly in the white ball formats.

Hazlewood and Pat Cummins have missed almost the entirety of the summer. Johnson too. Young guns Mahli Beardman and Callum Vidler are both sidelined with serious problems.

Jhye Richardson made it back for Boxing Day but fellow West Aussie Lance Morris is still absent through injury.

There is a championship quality attack there. Getting them fit enough to bowl is the issue.

FLAT TRACK BULLIES

When assessing the carnage of this campaign in The Australian, Lehmann returned to the loyalty shown towards players, with the freakishly-talented Maxwell cited as an example.

“Maxwell has been out of form for a long time now. Some of them just haven’t scored enough runs. But they have been quite loyal to that group, haven’t they?” he said.

For a veteran like the Victorian, that loyalty might well be at an end given his age, despite his previous brilliant deeds including the starring role in the 2023 World Cup.

Travis Head was remarkable during the Ashes and he and Mitch Marsh got Australia off to a flyer against Sri Lanka, but that was his first decent T20 score in a dozen knocks in the format.

Western Australians Cameron Green and Josh Inglis are at a cross-section in their careers. On flatter decks last year they fired but their form has been below par on the subcontinent.

Katich, in his assessment, believes Green would benefit from an extended stint in domestic cricket in order to fix his fragility, with his ability against a turning ball an area of concern.

Both are either entering or in what should be the prime of their careers. There is time but this campaign has only furthered the questions surrounding them at the highest level.

That surplus of all-rounders Australia has? Given Green and Maxwell barely bowled in Sri Lanka, and Sean Abbott did not make it to the start line, it begs the question as to whether they can be defined or judged in that role.

Speaking of injury woes, Tim David’s hamstring issue meant that he was underdone heading to the World Cup, though Katich pondered whether he has the technique to bat at No.4 on the spinning decks in the subcontinent. The jury is out in the circumstances.

Cooper Connolly is talented but his international forays are yet to reap the rewards Australian selectors clearly believe he is capable of producing.

He has averaged just under seven in BBL and Australian outings since Christmas and has now fallen to spin eight times, an alarming circumstance given the challenges this World Cup was always going to impose.

As Lehmann noted, surely Smith should have played in place of one of the above given his broad skillset, even if he was not able to play in his preferred place at the top of the order.

“There’s plenty of other spots (Smith) could have taken,” he said.

“You need someone with a bit of experience to succeed there. If Smith was in the middle order, we get 200. That’s the difference.”

THE FUTURE

Such is the blink and you miss nature of T20, the next World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2028 will be upon us before we know it, and clearly the conditions will suit the Aussies better.

But age and fitness suggest Maxwell will struggle, while there are clearly questions around Smith and Hazlewood as well given they will be 38 and 37 respectively, and coming off an extended period of Test cricket beginning in April. Touch wood and fingers crossed, of course.

The style of T20 cricket continues to evolve and it is now clear that Australia will need to be more adaptable as well. As Lehmann said, being too rigid with their selections in Sri Lanka cost Australia dearly.

Then there is the Olympics. Australia are currently ranked third but with New Zealand (4th) making the Super 8 stage, the Aussies will slide after the tournament is over.

As mentioned previously, it is not yet certain what the make-up of the Olympics will be, but it was widely reported last July the tournament will feature only one team from each region plus a qualifier for a total of six.

ECB chairman Richard Thompson told the BBC’s Test Match Special in July that the IOC was keen on having a team from each continent which satisfies the Olympic charter.

“The preference from the IOC is to work to the ‘five ring’ principle, which is teams from each of the continents represent their continent,” Thompson said.

“At this stage, we are there by the invitation of the IOC and on that basis, you abide by their rules, and that is to play the geography of your game as opposed to necessarily the top six playing nations.”

England would team with Scotland and Northern Ireland to form Great Britain, for example.

India would be favoured over Pakistan based on its current run of dominance over their arch rival. Based on current reporting, one but not both will play in Los Angeles.

As for Australia? New Zealand is the clearest rival in the Oceania region and will now be ranked above them in the format. On current form, it would be the Kiwis playing for gold. It is doubtful Smith, and any Aussie, would find that “pretty cool”.