England v Australia, 4th Test, Day 1 - Australia gift shame to their fans

The conditions were ideally suited for seam and swing bowling at Trent Bridge today, but it was not an unplayable track. The Manchester track of 1997, where Steve Waugh’s grit rescued Australia from an ugly collapse, was more difficult than this one. The Trent Bridge track of today needed patience and grit in the first hour, which the Australian batters failed to exhibit today.

Australia’s batting display was an absolute disgrace for the fans and with due respect to Stuart Broad’s eight-wicket haul, I must say that, the lack of technique against the moving ball led to such a dismal batting display by the Aussies. It’s quite tough to counter the moving ball with hard hands, lack of foot movement and a fragile defence. Shockingly, the Australians were a bunch of chicken-hearted souls who had no idea of what batting in Test cricket is all about.

In the good old days, I have seen Australia to counter the moving ball either via counter-attack or sheer grit. At present, the Australian batsmen neither have grit nor the nag to counter-attack. Where have such qualities ebbed away remains a moot question.

Above all, this Australian unit is lacking in confidence. Michael Clarke tried to sound confident at the toss, but deep down he is not. Something is affecting this time as far as my gut feeling says. The Australian cricket team fans, including me, are not used to witness such nightmarish displays....

Thank You
Faisal Caesar