‘We probably deserve what we’ve got’: Australia face backlash after ‘shambolic’ T20 World Cup exit

Colombo, Sri Lanka — Australia’s title defence ended in tatters on Tuesday when Zimbabwe’s no-result against Ireland officially slammed the door on the 2021 champions, triggering a wave of condemnation that labelled the campaign everything from “shambolic” to a sobering reality check for a once-dominant white-ball powerhouse.

The wash-out in the other Group fixture left Aaron Finch’s side marooned on the points table and condemned to a group-stage exit few predicted when the squad arrived in Sri Lanka. Instead of plotting a path to the semi-finals, selectors are now facing uncomfortable questions about depth, planning and the wisdom of several high-profile calls that backfired spectacularly.

Central to the inquest is a pace attack stripped of its usual venom. Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood were unavailable, while Mitchell Starc’s retirement from T20 internationals robbed the unit of its most experienced new-ball operator. The consequence, wrote The Australian, was a bowling line-up “a shadow of former glories,” adding that players who had delivered the country its first T20 crown only nine months earlier “have fallen off a cliff when the stakes are at their highest.”

Former spinner Brad Hogg, who lifted the inaugural T20 world title with Australia in 2007, delivered the most withering assessment yet. “We don’t have that bowling depth, and that’s really shown,” he told Talksport. “They’ve got to look at their depth of bowling… what’s our next generation going to look like?” Hogg saved his sharpest barb for last: “We probably deserve what we’ve got at this stage.”

Selection headaches compounded the on-field struggles. Steve Smith, in commanding form during the lead-in, was initially left out of the travelling party and only flown to Colombo as injury cover. He watched from the sidelines as Australia slipped to a damaging defeat against Zimbabwe, then remained unused during a middle-order collapse versus Sri Lanka that effectively sealed the team’s fate. “We still haven’t had a compelling answer as to why he wasn’t yet in Colombo,” the newspaper noted, highlighting the absence of a proven player adept at countering spin on slow sub-continental surfaces.

Tuesday’s mathematical finality — Zimbabwe advancing courtesy of a rained-off fixture — only intensified the backlash. British broadcaster Piers Morgan joined the chorus of schadenfreude, posting sarcastic condolences across social media as Australian supporters digested an early flight home.

For a side that entered the tournament among the favourites, the abrupt exit marks a stunning fall from grace and raises urgent questions about succession planning ahead of next year’s global showpiece. With injuries exposing a thin fast-bowling reservoir and selection gambits misfiring at critical moments, Hogg’s blunt verdict may linger long after the squad leaves Sri Lanka: Australia’s predicament is not misfortune, but a reflection of structural flaws that were hiding in plain sight.