​Australia’s Test batting future: More questions than answers after a tough series loss in South Africa originally appeared on Cricket News.
Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.KEY TAKEAWAYS:Australia’s 2-1 Test series defeat to South Africa has exposed concerns about their batting apart from their veteran bowling core.Former opener David Warner criticised the batting unit, saying the batters had let the bowlers down throughout the series.Marnus Labuschagne and Nic Maddinson are at risk of losing their spots.Australia face a selection dilemma ahead of their home Test series against New Zealand before a tour of India next year.South Africa series loss has brought Australia’s issues to the fore Australia’s first Test tour of South Africa since the infamous visit in 2018 ended in a 2-1 defeat at the same venue of the Sandpapergate scandal, Newlands in Cape Town. The Aussies collapsed in a chase of 288 runs as they were bundled out for 111 runs, losing the Test by 176 runs. Having taken a 1-0 lead after winning the opening Test in Durban, Pat Cummins’ side suffered back-to-back defeats in Gqeberha and Cape Town to surrender the series.While South Africa deserve credit for their turnaround, Australia’s batting failures were difficult to overlook. The visitors were bowled out for 99 in their second Test defeat and managed just 111 in the series decider.Their inability to build partnerships and negotiate South Africa’s pace attack and also spin at Newlands ultimately proved costly.Former Australian opener David Warner, who questioned the application and intent of the batting unit. “The batters have let the bowlers down the whole series,” he said on Fox Cricket, while describing their performance as “disgraceful” and “un-Australian.”MORE:’Un-Australian, disgraceful’: David Warner lashes out Pat Cummins and Co. after embarrassing Test series loss vs South AfricaThe issues have been lingering for a while, with the team struggling to establish a consistent top order since Warner’s retirement. With a demanding home summer against New Zealand followed by a five-Test tour of India, the selectors face some important decisions about the future composition of the batting line-up. (getty) Matt Renshaw, Josh Inglis and Cameron Green emerge as positivesDespite the disappointing series result, Australia did have a few encouraging performances that could continue to feature in the batting lineup for the home summer.Matt Renshaw was arguably the biggest beneficiary of the tour, scoring 369 runs at an average of 61.50 across three Tests. His performance in Durban stood out, as he scored 190 and 82 to help Australia recover from a difficult position and secure their only win.He was initially brought into the side as a replacement batter, but Renshaw also demonstrated his ability to operate at different positions. After batting at No. 5 in the opening Test, he returned to the top of the order in Cape Town following Nic M