Mind over method causing batting woes

The man who has proved a vital cog in Steve Smith’s ascension to the peak of Test cricket’s batting rankings believes Australia’s sub-standard efforts at Edgbaston last week can be attributed to muddled minds rather than faulty method.

And Michael Di Venuto, the team’s batting coach, added that if the Australians are to retain the Ashes now that they find themselves 1-2 adrift in the five match series they will need to be "tougher" in the way they stand up to England’s bowling and crowds.

The 136 for which Australia was dismissed in less than 40 overs on the opening day of the third Test was the lowest completed-innings total they have posted since Lord’s on the previous Ashes series in the UK two years ago.

When Di Venuto, the former Australia ODI opener, had been in the job a matter of months.

But the 41-year-old, who scored more than 25,000 runs in his 20-year first-class career with many of those coming as a regular on the English county circuit, does not believe it is a technical shortcoming on wickets that seam and in conditions conducive to swing that is Australia’s batting kryptonite.

Rather, he cites a lack of surety in the decision-making of top-order batsmen that saw them uncertain whether to defend, attack or leave alone the bowling of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Steve Finn that brought calamitous results.

Among the enduring images of that first day when the game was effectively lost for the Ashes holders was Adam Voges and Mitchell Starc both being caught behind the wicket attempting to withdraw the bat having changed their mind at a crucial moment.

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Voges edges behind after attempting to leave the ball // Getty

And Peter Nevill being bowled by a delivery from Anderson that was angled in at the stumps but the newly capped ‘keeper opted to leave.

In the second innings, when Australia crumbled to be six wickets down before scoring enough to make England bat again, Smith, David Warner and Mitchell Johnson all fell to miscued cross-bat attacking strokes that resulted in fly balls to the infield.

It completed a rare double failure for Smith, who credits his remarkable Test form of the past 18 months to Di Venuto’s now fabled advice to him during the five-nil Ashes whitewash series in Australia: "Smudge, you’re not out of form you’re just out of runs".

"It's decision making at this level, and we have to be really precise with our decision making," Di Venuto said in the wake of Australia’s thumping eight-wicket loss in Birmingham.

"Whether you’re going to play or leave the ball, or attack the ball.

"You certainly don’t want to lose your intent to score because when there is a bad ball you want to be in a position to put it away.

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Michael Di Venuto (right) with Michael Clarke and Shane Warne in March // Getty

"But as soon as the ball is released it’s up to the batsmen to make a decision – is he going to play at it, is he going to leave it, is he going to attack, is he going to defend.

"We saw some indecision in a couple of our dismissals, a couple of bad shots so again poor decision making, but there was some good bowling (by England) as well."

After top scoring in Australia’s second innings and looking as comfortable at the crease as anyone in a match that lasted just eight sessions, Warner spoke about how a rollicking home crowd can lift a bowling team and thus create an irresistible force that batsmen find difficult to counter.

He said the Australians had previously spoken about identifying those key moments in a game – such as when Finn took wickets from consecutive deliveries on Thursday and set Edgbaston rocking.

But Di Venuto points out that it’s one skill to recognise those watershed times, and quite another to negotiate them with a steadiness of hand and a clarity of mind.

Watch the key moments of the Ashes so far

"I think everyone is aware of it and we knew the situation of the game, especially (Thursday)," Di Venuto said today, adding that unlike technical issues with batsmen it is impossible to create a realistic match atmosphere in the practice nets.

"It’s hard to get 30,000 people screaming at training, and I’m not too sure Stuart Broad and James Anderson want to come and bowl to us at training.

"So it’s obviously hard at training to do that sort of thing, but we’ve all been in those situations before out in the middle.

"When you have a crowd like they were here at Edgbaston it’s quite noisy but a wonderful opportunity to quieten them down and get some runs.

"That’s where the two guys (batsmen) in the middle have to take responsibility and get through ... to counter-punch that.

"It’s hard work, nobody’s saying it’s easy especially with way they (England) bowled.

"But as a batting team we’ve got to counter that and we’ve got to be a little bit tougher."

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Di Venuto was also quick to draw a comparison between Australia captain Michael Clarke, who admitted in the third Test aftermath that he is struggling for runs and that his team is effectively playing one man short because of it, and England veteran Ian Bell.

When England’s selectors decided to dispense with number three batsman Gary Ballance after their hefty loss at Lord’s, there was concern among England critics and commentators as to the wisdom of promoting Bell to fill that pivotal berth.

After all, the 33-year-old had contributed three scores of below 12 in his four innings of the series to that point and looked to be vulnerable against the pace and swing of Australia’s seam bowlers.

But Bell bounced back in his new role with back-to-back half centuries at Edgbaston, including an unbeaten 65 on the final day to carry England to victory in front of his euphoric home fans.

Clarke has endured an even leaner run, having scored 94 at an average of 18.80 from his three Tests which represents the lowest return in a series comprising five innings or more in his 11-year Test career.

While dismissing suggestions that his position in the team might be under threat, Clarke has refused to rule out a move down his team’s batting order to number five (where he has scored a bulk of his Test runs) in contrast to Bell who was elevated to greater responsibility.

But the Australia captain has quashed calls for him to take a day or two break away from his notoriously rigorous training regime in order to clear his head before the vital fourth Test begins at Trent Bridge on Thursday.

"The skipper is a hard trainer, and he’s doing all the right things," Di Venuto said.

"I guess we saw it in this (third) Test match with Ian Bell - class is permanent.

"You don’t lose your class, he (Clarke) is not scoring the runs that he would like at the moment but you don’t play the amount of cricket that he has played not for something just to be around the corner.

"And we’re quite confident that he’ll come good in this series."

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