HOBART: Australia captain Steven Smith said he was embarrassed by his team\u00b4s performance against South Africa and accused his players of lacking pride in their wickets after another batting collapse paved the way to a crushing 2-0 series defeat.
\nHaving resumed on 121 for two on day four in Hobart, Australia lost eight wickets for 40 runs before lunch to crumble to an innings and 80-run loss, the team\u00b4s fifth successive defeat in tests.
\nAustralia head to Adelaide for the series finale under lights next week with confidence at rock-bottom and pundits demanding wholesale changes to the team\u00b4s roster and staff.
\nWhile giving credit to South Africa\u00b4s outstanding pace attack, Smith offered no defence for his batsmen and slammed them for failing to live up to the demands of international cricket.
\n“It\u00b4s not working. Obviously on the back of five losses there\u00b4s going to be a lot talked about in regards to selection and things like that,” the 27-year-old said at a candid post-match media conference.
\n“We\u00b4re not digging in enough, we\u00b4re not having the pride in our wicket. Something\u00b4s got to change and we\u00b4ve got to play a lot better than we have been if we\u00b4re going to beat any opposition around the world at the moment.
\n“I need players that are willing to get in the contest and get in the battle and have some pride in playing for Australia and pride in the baggy green (cap).
\n“I\u00b4m quite sick of saying it. We\u00b4ve lost five times in a row and for an Australian cricket team that\u00b4s humiliating and I\u00b4m embarrassed to be sitting here in this position, to be honest with you.”
\nTrounced by 177 runs in Perth, Australia brought a re-tooled lineup to Hobart, with Joe Burns replacing injured opener Shaun Marsh and specialist number six batsman Callum Ferguson debuting in place of all-rounder Mitchell Marsh.
\nBurns scored one and a duck, while Ferguson scored one in the second innings and ran himself out for three in the first.
\nDebutant seamer Joe Mennie, who replaced injured paceman Peter Siddle, took 1-85 and rarely threatened.
\nAustralia coach Darren Lehmann guaranteed there would be further changes to the team before Adelaide but Smith gave a bleak prognosis of the available replacements.
\n“We need guys in state cricket to really step and jump out of the pack,” he said.
\n“I don\u00b4t think there\u00b4s anyone really doing that at the moment, that\u00b4s really averaging 55-60, things like that.
\n“So there\u00b4s obviously going to be questions asked in all different ways.”
\nSmith said his bowlers also needed to lift, berating them for lacking discipline and giving their opponents “freebies” with loose deliveries in each over.
\nThe bowlers would at least be rested before Adelaide, in contrast to the batsmen, who face a week of toil for their Sheffield Shield sides.
\nBarring Smith, his vice-captain David Warner and pace duo Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, Lehmann suggested the rest of the team had no guarantees.
\n“Outside of that, everyone\u00b4s got to make some runs and take some wickets. It\u00b4s a really important four days of Shield cricket,” he said. “You\u00b4ve got to have an eye to the future as well.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
HOBART: Australia captain Steven Smith said he was embarrassed by his team\u00b4s performance against South Africa and accused his players of lacking pride in their wickets after another batting collapse paved the way to a crushing 2-0 series defeat. Having resumed on 121 for two on day four in Hobart, Australia lost eight wickets for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6498,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6489","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n