Michael Vaughan has broken his silence on Australia's loss in the World Test Championship final against Australia at Lord's. South Africa won their first major ICC title after 27 years as they defeated the mighty Aussies by five wickets.
Australia posted a target of 282 runs to win for South Africa. They got to the target on the back of Aiden Markram's brilliant innings of 136 runs and Temba Bavuma's innings of 66 runs.
After the loss in the WTC final, Australia travel to the Caribbean for a three-Test match series before the Ashes series which kicks off the Aussie summer. The Ashes 2025-26 begins from November 21 with the first Test in Perth and ends with the fifth Test in Sydney on January 8.
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Australian Batting Looks Vulnerable - Michael Vaughan
Meanwhile, former England skipper Michael Vaughan has already given his predictions for the Ashes series. Australia have dominated England at home not having lost a series since the 2010-11 season. The Aussies are also holding the Ashes urn at the moment.
However, South Africa's win over Australia in the WTC final has increased hopes in Vaughan who said that the loss proved that Australia are a beatable side.
"With my England hat on, it was very interesting to watch Australia lose this [WTC final] game having had such a healthy first-innings lead. The first thing I would say is that just because they lost this week doesn’t mean they will be an easy beat for England in the Ashes. I’m not getting giddy about it. But South Africa have provided a reminder that they can be beaten," he wrote in his column for the Telegraph.
He further pointed out the batting ailments of this Australian unit. Usman Khawaja has looked weak against pace, while Marnus Labuschagne could not make the most of his opportunity at the top. The move to send Cameron Green at three has also not worked out. Vaughan said that Marcus and Green are batting out of position.
"I think England can take real heart from Australia’s batting performance in this Test. It looks vulnerable. Usman Khawaja against fast bowling looks very close to the end, and he is joined in the top three by Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green, two guys batting out of position," he further explained.
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Vaughan Praises Australian Bowling
Vaughan hailed the Australian bowling attack under Pat Cummins but said that with the retirement of a few players looming, there will be big shoes to fill for the youngsters ahead of an Ashes series.
"Australia’s bowlers are still outstanding. It’s a relentless seam attack, with Cummins a simply outstanding seamer. Khawaja is 39 this year, Nathan Lyon 38. Mitchell Starc is 35 and Josh Hazlewood is 34, and both have huge opportunities on the franchise circuit. There will be some big holes to fill before long. It takes a fair while to blood new bowlers, and you want to ease them in gradually rather than all at once" Vaughan concluded saying.
