It’s a period that will define a generation. They had something similar in 2023 when they lost in India, won the WTC, drew the Ashes and won the World Cup. But this series against South Africa, the current WTC champions, adds another significant prize. Australia haven’t won a Test series in England since 2001, India since 2004 and South Africa since 2014, although the latter only encompasses one series with an eight-year gap between red-ball visits. Win it all and this team will be go down as a great side, much like those of the former players they are currently jousting with. But it is a massive ask.
“I don’t try and look too far ahead on results. Obviously, it’s there if we play well and if we can find ourselves on a winning side on two or three of those series, I think it’s up to you guys to how you define that, but it’d be a pretty cool thing for the team and I know a few guys want to [win as they] probably haven’t had the success they would like in some of those countries. So, there’s an opportunity there for us.”
We’re an incredibly talented batting unit that have put on some significant numbers over a period of time. Relative to the rest of the world, they’re still going really well. We’re the No.1-ranked team for a reason
Andrew McDonald, Australia coach
Enough is enough, for how long?
The batting discussion has dominated the last couple of years. The team acknowledges that they would like more runs from the top order but, as Head made clear on Wednesday in Durban, there is growing anger at how it is being portrayed without, the players believe, enough wider context. In 2025, Australia’s top seven averaged 33.26 in Tests while the global figure was 34.45.
“We have been playing fast-forward cricket, if you want to call it that, in the conditions that we’ve been in. So [it’s having] the ability, it’s more mental really, just to get back into that tempo of just rolling through the overs, knocking them around, building totals. We have seen that when we have had flat surfaces, we have had the ability to do that as well. I think that’s the challenge, not to get caught up in the speed of the game.
“We’re an incredibly talented batting unit that have put on some significant numbers over a period of time. And relative to the rest of the world, they’re still going really well. We’re the No.1-ranked team for a reason.”
The unknown is whether the foundations of that record are becoming too brittle to be held together for this unprecedented run. It feels unlikely that performances will fall off a cliff, but these three Tests in South Africa should provide a clearer indication of the health of the team.
Is age just a number?
There has been a clamour for an injection of youth into the Test side particularly after what happened in Darwin given concerns over a group of senior players retiring at once. If Maddinson makes the most remarkable comeback as Green’s replacement in Durban there won’t be a player under 30 in the side. If it’s Cooper Connolly, the figure will remain at one. But the team and management are unapologetic; it’s what is needed for here and now that is the priority. There is an awareness, and planning, for the inevitable transition of the team but it won’t be forced.
“We need mature guys that know what they need to be doing,” Head said of the Maddinson selection amid his targeted swipe at the former player cohort. “I think that revolves back to why we’ve been so good over a period of time, and why Australian cricket was so good back then in that era. Because you bring in the Mike Husseys of the world who are 30, who have tried and tested and know what they need to do, and mature and know the blueprint and know what they need.”
Whether, if not when, the feared mass exodus occurs given their close age bracket, only time will tell, but it is a concern that the next in line on this tour, Scott Boland and Michael Neser, are 37 and 36 respectively. However, unlike the batting debate it’s very hard, if not impossible, to make a case that any of the bowlers – with their sustained success – should be moved on early.
“We’re acutely aware of how old we are, particularly from the outside noise,” Starc said. “We know what’s coming up, and we know series are big, but at some point the story’s going to end, right?
“We’re all aware of what we could achieve [over the next year], but we’ve had a lot of fun doing what we’ve done together for 15, 16 years. The way we are, we don’t look too far ahead, and we don’t really look back either. If we don’t win a series somewhere, that’s not the end of life, it’s a game of cricket. But we certainly want to win everything and there’s still a lot of things we all want to achieve.”
Andrew McGlashan is a deputy editor at Cricinfo
