There’s nothing better than time in the middle.
It’s a common phrase you’ve heard countless times when cricketers talk about the inexact science of trying to be at their best for big matches.
The Australian men’s cricket team has two enormous trophies on the line in England next month – the World Test Championship and the Ashes.
And their build-up for these blockbuster events? No tour games and plenty of time in the nets, a few centre-wicket sessions and a relaxing round of golf.
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A few of their players are getting acclimated to English conditions with brief county stints but many members of the squad will be coming in cold after a couple of months putting the feet up or switching from the frenetic pace of the Indian Premier League’s T20 crash and bash.
Marnus Labuschagne prepares to go out to bat during the final day of the tour match against Worcestershire in 2019. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
If it’s any consolation, their WTC final opponents India have also not bothered to try to cram in a red-ball game in England after the IPL in the lead-up to the decider at The Oval on June 7.
And England’s Ashes preparations have also been hampered by Ben Stokes’ injury, IPL commitments and some players struggling for form at county level. They will face off against Ireland at Lord’s a fortnight prior to the Ashes so they will also have some international red-ball form under their belts before taking on Australia on June 16.
The Australians were heavily criticised prior to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy tour of India in February for not lining up a first-class warm-up fixture under the rationale that the BCCI could not be trusted from past experience to roll out a wicket resembling the Test pitches, select a decent side or give the tourist much exposure to local spinners.
Instead, the Aussies had a pre-tour camp on home soil before trying to cram in as much practice in the week before the first Test as possible.
Cricket Australia also had the conflicting interest of trying to revive the BBL which affected the Indian preparations for several stars like Steve Smith and David Warner.
Whether they took the right option or not, it was clear that the longer the tour went on in India, the more accustomed the Australian players became with the foreign conditions, particularly the batters.
The upcoming Ashes tour will be the first time in history that an Australian team will only play Tests as part of its itinerary.
Fixtures against county sides have been dwindling in modern times – the Aussies only played twice, against Worcestershire and Derbyshire when they last headed to the UK for the 2-2 drawn series in 2019 under Tim Paine which was enough to retain the urn.
Those games were after the first and third Tests with no warm-up fixture beforehand apart from an intra-squad hit-out due to the tight turnaround from the World Cup in England a couple of weeks earlier.
They won the opening Test of the series by 251 runs on the back of twin tons from Steve Smith so the lack of a traditional build-up could not have been all that bad. However, apart from a second-innings 110 from Matthew Wade, no other Australian batter passed 50.
Former Test batter Darren Lehmann, who oversaw two Ashes tours during his time as Australia’s coach from 2013-18, voiced his concern about the approach for the upcoming series.
“You need games to acclimatise first and foremost,” Lehmann told SEN during the week. “To get used to the ball and wickets and pressure. No tour game is not a good idea. I hope it works but if it doesn’t, ‘who made that decision’ will be asked.
Australia celebrate winning the 2019 Ashes. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
“I think we win the Ashes anyway 3-1 but if we don’t, wow.”
Before the 2013 series when he took over a fractured team from Mickey Arthur, the Australians played a couple of lead-in four-dayers before losing the first Test on the way to a 3-0 series defeat.
Two years later, the tourists thrashed Kent and Essex before going down by 169 runs in the first Test as England won three of the first four matches with Australia saving face in the final clash.
Having tour matches midway through the series is also a way for unused squad members to get some game time in preparation for when they’re called into the team while players struggling for form in the Tests get a chance to find it against lesser opposition.
This year’s schedule is a far cry from Ashes tours of yesteryear when teams would be in transit both ways and on tour for several months.
The very first team of Aboriginal players who toured England in 1868 endured a three-month journey by sea, arriving in May, then took part in 47 matches before heading home to return the following February.
Sir Donald Bradman’s 1948 Invincibles played a dozen county fixtures before the first Test, racking up 29 matches without defeat all up.
Steve Smith dominated the 2019 series. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Even as recently as 2005, there were four first-class games on the touring itinerary before and during the Ashes.
Australia’s chief selector George Bailey, at the recent squad announcement for the UK tour, was not particularly concerned by the team’s limited build-up for the global final and their first taste of England’s Bazball revolution.
With the rise in white-ball fixtures, particularly T20 leagues globally, events like the traditional Lilac Hill clash in Perth and the Duke of Norfolk’s XI fixture at Arundel Castle for international touring teams have fallen by the wayside.
The near abolition of all tour games looks like it is here to stay.
For traditional cricket fans, the game will be the poorer for it.
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