Border-Gavaskar Trophy : This Great Australian Cricketer criticizes Aussies for overthinking

Legendary Australian cricketer Allan Border  is still perplexed as to why middle-order batsman Travis Head was left out of the team that lost to India by an innings and 132 runs in the first Test at Nagpur. Since the 2021/22 Ashes series, when Australia won the five-Test series 4-0 and Head was named Player of the Series, Head has been in outstanding form. He contributed to the joint second-highest run total during Australia’s recent 2-0 victory over South Africa in a three-test series played at home.

However, Matt Renshaw received the nod from the selectors for the first Border-Gavaskar Test rather than Head, despite having accomplished a number of milestones in the previous year. Renshaw failed to have an impact in Nagpur and was fired twice, for 0 and 2.

Allan Border felt the Australians were "overthinking" their strategy, and decided to drop Travis Head only because of his two mediocre runs during the previous tours of Sri Lanka and Pakistan.#INDvAUShttps://t.co/HswgZ1HVvR

— CricketNDTV (@CricketNDTV) February 16, 2023

Border said the Australians were “overthinking” their plan and only chose to bench Head after his two lacklustre performances on the previous tours of Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

I assumed Head was malicious or had hurt himself. Border stated on SEN Radio on Thursday, “I just couldn’t believe that Travis Head could be left solely on a win that he didn’t play very well in India last time or when they were in Sri Lanka.

“That might be the case, but you’re allowed to get better, and Travis Head is one of those players that got better and demonstrated that during the summer.” Border stated the Australians had got their selection for the Nagpur game dreadfully wrong.

“I believe some of the things we overthought, worried about all the small gremlins about the pitch… that’s what you expect when you go over there, they got the plans and the team wrong in the first game,” the author said.

Border believed that Australia should return to their tried-and-true three-pronged pace attack and include just one spinner—Nathan Lyon rather than Todd Murphy—for the second Test in New Delhi, which begins Friday. Pace bowler Mitchell Starc and all-arounder Cameron Green are expected to be healthy for the match.

In Nagpur, young spinner Murphy made his debut and took seven wickets while Lyon only managed one.

Lyon must be chosen, according to Border, who added that he has amassed sufficient goodwill over the years to be selected first.

“Well done to young Murphy; I know it will be difficult to leave him out, but I really think the formula for us to win (is) three quickies and one spinner.

I believe it will be better for us to bowl stump to stump and be relentless with that strategy than than trying to beat them with spin; we’ve tried that forever and it hasn’t worked.