Former Australian cricketers are speaking out after Pakistan defeated Australia in the ODI series, marking their first series win against the hosts in 22 years.
Michael Clarke, former Test captain, criticized the decision to rest key players for the decisive third ODI, saying, “It seems the world champions didn’t care about losing.” In this crucial game, Australia chose to rest stars like Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Steve Smith, and Marnus Labuschagne, while Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head were already on paternity leave.
According to reports, Cummins left for Sydney to rest after the first two ODIs and attended a Coldplay concert with his wife on the night of the game. Meanwhile, Test wicketkeeper Alex Carey was busy with the domestic one-day cup.
On his Big Sports Breakfast radio show, Clarke pointed out that Australia seemed to prioritize the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy over the ODI series, questioning why players couldn’t play both given there were still 11 days before the first Test.
Former coach Mike Hussey also weighed in, calling the decision to rest five players before a series-decider unprecedented, and noted that the Australian batting lineup had been exposed in all three matches.
Ex-player Brendon Julian added that the defeat was “embarrassing,” citing poor scheduling and arguing that such a large-scale rest strategy shouldn’t happen before a critical game.