Australia one-day skipper Aaron Finch admits his players are feeling some self doubts, but insists the team will regain its mojo in time for next year's World Cup in England.
The start to the home international summer couldn't have gone much worse for Australia, with the team bowled out for 152 in a six-wicket loss to South Africa in Perth on Sunday.
Tough talk: The Australians appear in a deep trough, but captain Aaron Finch predicts brighter times ahead.Credit:AAP
Australia collapsed to 3-8 and 6-66 during their batting innings before Alex Carey (33) and Nathan Coulter-Nile (34) posted some much-needed runs.
The Proteas won with 20.4 overs to spare in a fizzer of a series opener.
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Australia have now lost 17 of their past 19 ODI matches – a horror record for a nation accustomed to success in the 50-over format.
Less than seven months remain until the World Cup starts and Australia's hopes of silverware appear slim right now.
But Finch is adamant the wins will start coming soon.
"It will turn. The way that we're training, believe me, the wheel will turn. And it will happen quickly," Finch said.
However, Finch admits there are self doubts, especially when players head to the middle in the midst of a batting collapse, which have been a regular feature for much of the past year.
"You'd say that guys are probably at times doubting themselves," Finch said.
"And when you're three-for-eight, you probably have to go and play a different style of one-day cricket than what you map out in your head about how you think the game will unfold.
"When guys are not performing as well as they can do, there's always going to be a bit of doubt.
"But you're only one good shot away from feeling on top of the world again. I think it's about understanding it's not all doom and gloom."
Following Australia's poor batting performance, Finch made the surprise decision to hand Nathan Coulter-Nile the new ball instead of Mitchell Starc, a move that backfired as Coulter-Nile conceded 11 runs in his first over.
Finch said the move was done as part of Australia's strategy to break out of their losing funk.
"It's been 17 out of 19 (that we've lost), so we're looking to try some new things and try something different," Finch said.
"If you keep doing the same thing over and over, it's the definition of insanity isn't it?"
Australia will be aiming to rebound in Friday's clash with South Africa at Adelaide Oval.
Shaun Marsh, who underwent surgery on a buttocks abscess on Friday, is expected to be fit and Glenn Maxwell is also set to play despite copping a painful knock to a finger on his right hand while batting on Sunday.
While the Australians are under significant pressure, they found an ally in veteran South African paceman Dale Steyn, who said after the match the home side shouldn't feel embarrassed by their batting flop.
Steyn was forgiving when asked after Sunday's win to assess Australia's inept batting display.
"No, I don't think they need to be too embarrassed by it," Steyn said. "The conditions were tough. Throw another 30, 40 runs on there and it becomes quite a tricky chase.
"I think we outbowled them. I don't think they bowled as well as they potentially could have. That was the difference.
"I think our bowlers were relentless with their lines and lengths and made it extremely difficult to score."
Steyn took 2-18 off seven overs in his first international match on Australian soil in two years since breaking his shoulder to be named man of the match.
The 35-year-old still rates Australia's batting line-up highly despite Sunday's collapse.
"I think they bat deep," he said. "They bat all the way down to Nathan Coulter-Nile. He can really bat. Our strength is our bowling right now. It's hot.
"Lungi (Ngidi) has been going hot since the IPL. KG (Kagiso Rabada) has been a fantastic competitor for the last couple of years.
"And Imran Tahir is arguably the best white-ball spinner in the world."
AAP
