Australia facing grim situation in Adelaide Test but Justin Langer tips ‘fightback’

Australia will enter their most important home Test under Pat Cummins’ captaincy with just four genuine bowling options.

Down 1-0 after a 295-run mauling by India in Perth, Australia simply need to keep their perfect record in day-night Tests at Adelaide Oval alive to avoid a tough week turning into a bad summer.

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Not since the 1997 Ashes in England has Australia come-from-behind to eventually win a Test series.

Australian players were bemused by the criticism that followed after being crushed in Perth, believing the reaction was over-the-top and confident they could still win a Border-Gavaskar series for the first time since 2014-15.

But if the fallout from Optus Stadium was savage, a loss in Adelaide would place an ageing team — 10 of the current 11 are aged 30 or older — in serious peril.

Former Australian opener and coach Justin Langer told Sunrise that he was confident in captain Pat Cummins’ ability to lead the team back to form.

Langer also dismissed rumours that there were rifts within the Aussie camp, attributing the drama to the typical build-up of a major Test series.

“One thing I know is Aussies aren’t great losers, are we?” Langer told Sunrise.

“And we always fight back.

“So the boys are going to be pumped. There’s been a lot of build-up to this Test match. So the boy, Paddy, will have them up and going.

“I mean, I can’t wait to see Marnus get out there, get on his front foot, start belting his cover drive again. Steve Smith is due for some runs. So yeah, the boys will be up and about.”

He said with every Test series “part of the theatre” was the big build-up.

“They’ve always got to find something to talk about. So now the boys, I know for absolute certain, this is a very close-knit team, and they have been for a long time. They’re not the world champions for nothing, remember?

“They had a bad game last week in Perth. Expect them, the closely knit Australian team, to fight back today and for the next five days.”

Australia will seek to level the five-match series without Josh Hazlewood, who will miss due to a side strain.

Reliable quick Scott Boland is the easiest of inclusions, having kept Hazlewood out of the team for a period when he dominated in 2021-22.

The bowling should fall almost completely to Cummins, Boland, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon, despite allrounder Mitch Marsh declared fit to take the ball.

The 33-year-old has been hampered by back soreness since sending down more overs than he and Australia would have preferred in Perth when India piled on second-innings runs.

Marsh didn’t bowl at all in the nets during this week, with Australia preferring to keep him as fresh as possible for the match.

But if India’s batters get on a roll as they did in Perth, Cummins might not have any other choice but to turn to Marsh, as well as Marnus Labuschagne.

The decision to use Labuschagne’s part-time medium pace for crucial overs in the first Test didn’t come across well in a historically bad loss.

For four Tests earlier in the year, Australia had the rare option of turning to two genuine allrounders to bowl overs when Cameron Green and Marsh played in the same team.

But with Green ruled out for the entire summer with a back injury and Marsh struggling to maintain full fitness, Australia are suddenly lacking in bowling depth.

The move to throw Labuschagne the ball for crucial overs in Perth was derided, with the No.3’s bowling seemingly treated as a joke pre-series.

But if India bat long periods in Adelaide, as they did in the first Test, then Australia might need to turn to Labuschagne again.

The former No.1-ranked Test batter bowled significant periods in the nets during the week.

“I’d say probably more likely turn to the fast bowlers a bit more,” Cummins said.

“In Perth, ‘Joshy’ (Hazlewood) was getting a little bit sore as well towards the end, so there’s a bit of preservation there.

“Whereas this Test, everyone’s fit and firing, and if that remains the case, as a general rule you try to rely on your four main guys.”

- With 7NEWS