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Former Australian wicketkeeper Ian Healy issued a warning to Aussies ahead of the West Indies tour to sort out their top-order batting issues, particularly Usman Khawaja, who, despite being a prolific run-scorer in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC), will be turning 39 in December during the home Ashes series against England.
The ICC WTC final against South Africa was a nightmare for the new-look Aussie top-order. Khawaja failed to step up when it mattered the most, scoring 0 and 6, while Marnus Labuschagne (17 in 22) could not adapt well to the demands of opening the innings. Cameron Green (4 and 0), also failed to fire at number three on his return to international cricket. As Australia kickstart their new WTC 2025-27 cycle with a series against West Indies of three Tests from June 25 onwards, there are concerns over their batting, with Labuschagne having not scored a century in the last 16 Tests and Khawaja not having the age on his side. Healy warned, particularly Khawaja, that if he is not at the top of his game, energy and technique-wise, a potential farewell Ashes series could turn out to be a nightmare. "If you limp to the end of your career and the last series you are hanging out for is the Ashes, it is going to be a nightmare," Healy said as quoted by SEN. He warned that England bowlers are coming for Aussies big time". "They are picking the right style of bowler, and they are looking at batsmen who can prosper in Australian conditions. They are going so specific (with selection) that they are going to be all over us. If you are not right on the top of your energy levels and your technique - which we are not at the moment - you are going to get hurt," he added. "In your last series, if you are not there, if you thought it was going to be fun, it is a nightmare," he continued. With the Ashes series starting during late November, Healy feels that the issues the side has been facing have not been addressed. "We are less than 6 months from this big series we are supposed to be building towards, and the issues have not been fixed," Healy said. "So, do we fix them now? Or do we replace them? It is a bit of an unknown who we are going to replace them with. That is the discussion, that is for sure," he concluded. (ANI)
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