Cricket: It's true, Aussies do have an Achilles heel

Word's out - the Australians reckon their batting is showing signs of stuttering, as Brett Lee illustrates here. Picture / Reuters

Aussie coach John Buchanan has offered another hint that his batsmen could be under the cosh during the one-day series in New Zealand.

Hard on the heels of comments from captain Ricky Ponting and former batting great Greg Chappell, Buchanan has raised questions about the Australian batting line-up on the eve of the opening ODI at Wellington.

Australia are the world ODI champions and the No 1 ranked side at the moment, but were criticised for some less than convincing performances during their VB Series triumph over the West Indies and Pakistan.

Buchanan said the team would wait until the end of the tour to start the detailed analysis, but said the team's batting had been a concern and suggested the match-winning contribution had come from the bowlers.

"In a batting sense, we've been making poor decisions at times, but we can discuss that at a more appropriate time," he said yesterday.

"One of the issues for the batsmen is that they play with freedom and deliver their own game plan. Our defence has generally been pretty good. Our bowlers have done a good job and our fielders have backed it up."

His assessment followed a remark by Ponting on Wednesday that it was time for the batsmen to put their hands up, and a warning from Chappell that the Darren Lehmann sacking could be the start of a bigger purge.

Chappell said the time was ripe for the selectors to begin shaping the side they needed to retain the 2007 World Cup.

"A lot of guys in that squad will be on the wrong side of their 30s by the time the next World Cup rolls around, so there may well be other changes as well," he said.

"I think it just puts everyone on notice. It doesn't matter what you've done in the past, it's all about your performance now and looking to the future."

Buchanan feared that one of the prime contributing factors could be the sheer volume of cricket played these days, and hinted that the touring party would treat rest and recuperation as a priority throughout.

Australia have faced a taxing playing schedule of late, from their arduous tour of India to the series against New Zealand and Pakistan, and the subsequent VB tri-series and it's whistle-stop itinerary.

Buchanan agreed that fatigue could be an issue and said it would be addressed during the tour.

"I've said that a few times," he said. "There is a sense of the players being jaded and obviously that can affect their mental application and that's possibly contributing to the batting.

"We've all been there before as a group. Everybody acknowledges [the fatigue] and we'll probably address that through our workload and our training and our recovery sessions."

Buchanan, whose strategy notes on the 1999-2000 New Zealand side were mysteriously leaked in what media believe was a deliberate psychological ploy, said he would avoid being overly prescriptive when it came to practice.

"Each individual has to stay in touch with their own game and if they believe it's in their best interest to reduce their training load then we will be supporting that," he said.

However, the innovative Aussie coach said it was important to concentrate on the immediate task rather than looking too far ahead, and possibly being distracted by the Ashes series.

Australia tour England this winter in the test version of No 1 versus No 2; undoubtedly one of the most eagerly awaited Ashes series for the best part of 15 years.

"When we plan, we plan for the immediacy, which is this tour," Buchanan said. "Yes, there is an eye to England and then there is an eye further down the track to World Cup 2007. But what we do here is potentially important in terms of the way we want to play our cricket."