Australia lost the three-Test series to South Africa 2-1.
Australia captain Pat Cummins talked about the calls for changes in the setup after South Africa defeated the Kangaroos 2-1 in a recent amazing Test series. Australia had started the three-Test series well by winning the first game by 214 runs in Durban.
South Africa bounced back in the second Test in Gqeberha with a win by an innings and 31 runs. The third Test match proved to be an all-time classic, as Australia had taken a 100-run lead in the first innings but still managed to lose the game by 176 runs.
Marnus Labuschagne was the biggest disappointment with 131 runs in three Tests at an average of 21.83. Nic Maddinson, recalled for this Test series, and Beau Webster also struggled in the Test series.
“Always the case after losing a series—and it's probably fair. If we lost two games in a row, I think it's fair to be asking those questions. We'll be asking them internally as well.
We are a very good side, but I think we need to get a little bit better if we want to get back to number one and where we think we can be. Maybe that's a change of style; maybe it's a change of personnel in some instances. Give us a couple of weeks (and) we'll work it out," Cummins said at the post-match presser, reacting to the calls for change.
Cummins acknowledged that his batters let the team down, but he also acknowledged that the day-five pitch wasn't going to be an easy task.
“A few really poor decisions. I know it's a day-five wicket, but I don't think it was drastic. There were runs to be scored out there. There were lots of balls to face—a few decisions that the boys would like back. (Our) start in the first couple of overs, where you're behind it—maybe you're chasing a little bit harder than maybe when you turn up and think, 'This is how you think the day is going to go.'
So, we've got to get better. It's happened a few times … We thought that Chase was very achievable. I think we're a better side than what we have been playing lately. There are clear improvements to be made,” Cummins stated about the third test loss.
The Proteas were put in to bat by Cummins, who had won the toss. He acknowledged that he had made a mistake, but he gave an explanation of his reasoning. He believed that the opening-day pitch would do much more than it actually did.
"We probably thought it was going to do a little bit more on day one than it did. But you don't win the toss and think you're going to bowl the opposition out for 100 or 200. We knew it was going to be high scoring, but we thought we could get 10 wickets on day one. That'd put us right ahead of the game … You'd love to replay things and see how they would have worked out in the counterfactual (scenario), but you just don't get a chance," he said.
Although they had started badly in the first session of the first day, they had been able to dismiss the home team for 329 runs. But after that, they were able to gain a lead of 100 runs; unfortunately, their batting was very bad in the second innings.
(ANI inputs)