Has the Australian Test team lost the aura it once had?

Has the Australian Test team lost whatever aura it had against touring sides on Aussie soil?

That was the question posed by SEN Cricket’s Tom Morris to former England captain Michael Vaughan after Australia was humiliated by 295 runs against India in the first Test in Perth.

Vaughan, who toured Australia in 2002/03 against a side led by Steve Waugh and stacked with the likes of Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Shane Warne, Justin Langer and Glenn McGrath, can’t remember an Aussie side lacking aggression on home soil as this one.

While calling the game for Fox Cricket, Vaughan noted that India looked the more ‘in-your-face’ of the two teams and he pondered whether the loss of David Warner has hurt Australia in the field when it comes to making opposition batsmen uncomfortable in the middle.

“India are a very dangerous side, particularly when they start to get confidence and I think we saw that in Perth,” Vaughan told SEN Mornings.

“They’ve got that energy and that aggressive nature, and that’s the one thing that surprised me in Perth. I know India were on top, but India looked like a more aggressive team and a little bit more in-your-face in terms of playing cricket the way that Australia used to play.

“Australia just looked like a team that were just going – not through the motions – but they just looked like a nice team to play against.

“I didn’t see any aggression. I didn’t see the bouncer theory coming to Yashasvi Jaiswal. I didn’t see any kind of confrontation out in the middle.

“Maybe they missed David Warner in that regard more than his batting … we were looking out on the field and they crying out for a little bit of something and maybe that’s what David Warner brought to them when they were in the field.”

In terms of dominating teams in a battle of skill, Vaughan believes that it’s Australia’s batting which is letting them down with the bowling group led by Pat Cummins still more than capable of getting on top of sides.

“I think the bowling attack is without any question that quartet of bowlers are up there with the best, but the batting is nowhere near,” Vaughan said.

“I think that’s where teams can really target this Australian batting lineup. If you can bowl them out quickly, which India did in that first Test, the bowlers have to go back out there and bowl a little bit too soon because they’ve not had the rest.

“The only way that Australia can put it right is by winning, and that’s very simple terms.

“The batters can only put it right by putting a number on the board, your job as a bat is to score runs, your currency is runs.

“But it won’t be easy.”

The second Test between Australia and India in Adelaide begins today (Friday, December 6). Listen to every ball LIVE on SEN and the SEN app.

BY LACHLAN GELEIT/SEN