The Australian team came into the ICC T20 World Cup as the defending champions. Playing on their own grounds, the Aussies were expected to be the scariest team to face.
Australia started their World Cup campaign against India in a practice match. Now many practice matches are to set the mood of the tournament, and Australia looked sloppy right from then.
They Were Placed in the Group of Death With England, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka
Months before the T20 World Cup could begin, Justin Langer had stepped down as head coach of the team. His reasons were that his players had lost confidence in him and the effect of the players and coach relationship was visible on the field.
From the players' and board's point of view, they stated that they did not like his coaching strategy as the environment was full of high intensity. Players wanted to cut some slack, and that is when Andrew McDonald was hired as the new coach.
Extreme Chopping and Cutting Was a Mistake
According to Justin Langer, once McDonald took over, the coaching staff spent way too much time chopping and cutting the squad. The build-up to the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 was also disappointing for the Aussies.
There were multiple changes being made to the squad in the series before the World Cup. The senior players were being rested often on the pretext of giving other players some game time.
“When you are still shuffling your squad in the last series before the World Cup, then you will surely be in big-big trouble,” said Langer. Minor mistakes in a World Cup can cause big upsets, and you could be out of the tournament in a blink of an eye.
The reason for Langer to leave was because the players didn't like his high intensity. According to former Australian captain Michael Clarke, the Australian team showed the least intensity on the field.
The game plan to qualify for the semifinals was all about the net run rate, and because of the slack that Australia showed, England managed to sneak through to the semifinals.
Australia Have a Couple of ODI and Test Series Against England, West Indies, and South Africa Before the Ashes
David Warner hinted at test retirement post the Ashes test series. The coaching staff has a lot of thinking to do before the England ODI series. They need to work on a fixed squad. Having lost Glen Maxwell to injury, there will be some chance for the players like Cameron Green and Mitchel Marsh to shine.
