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"Regressed In Performance" Australia Legend Slams Batting Coach For Poor Test Form

Akshita Patel

Australia slammed for poor batting performance [Source: @cricketcomau, @Deshdrohit/X.com]Australia slammed for poor batting performance [Source: @cricketcomau, @Deshdrohit/X.com]

Former Australian cricketer Ian Healy has strongly criticised the Australian batting unit and batting coach Michael Di Venuto for what he called a “regression” in performance. Despite Australia winning the first Test against the West Indies by 159 runs in Barbados, Healy is not happy with how the batters are performing lately.

Australia is coming off a defeat in the 2025 World Test Championship Final vs South Africa. The batters had a fallout, scoring 212 and 207 in two innings. This poor form continued in the first Test against the West Indies held in Barbados last week.

Ian Healy Hits Out At Australia’s Abysmal Batting Form

In the first inning, Australia succumbed to 180 runs despite Travis Head’s 59. In the second inning as well, the top order failed, but Head, Beau Webster, and Alex Carey contributed 61, 63, and 65, respectively, to post 310 runs on the board.

While Australia won the Test by 159 runs owing to the bowlers’ brilliance, concerns over their batting form have been raised by former wicket-keeper Ian Healy. 

Talking to SEN and quoted by the Hindustan Times, Healy stated that this weak batting is not a one-off incident but part of a larger decline in Australia’s red-ball form. He directly blamed batting coach Michael Di Venuto for failing to make an impact since his appointment in 2021.

"I love to put it back onto the players more than coaches usually. But, as I said, Australian cricket’s batting head coach – and every state batting coach – should be under pressure because there’s not enough runs being scored around the nation either. Michael Di Venuto – a friend of mine who is a good coach and a good man – has held the job since mid-2021. In this time, our national team batting has regressed in performance at the Test level," Healy said.

Healy Calls For Changes In Grass-Root Level

While suggesting a solution to the poor batting problem, Ian Healy also mentioned that even state-level batting coaches need to step up, as a lack of runs is seen across domestic cricket too. 

"All that’s important to me is the performance. ‘I don’t care how you do it or what will make it easier for you – just get it done. They’re not making it easy for themselves at all, players have got to deal better with nerves by the sound of it," he added.

He stressed the importance of batting with balance, strong technique, and mental clarity, especially for the top order, so that the lower order doesn’t have to constantly save the team.

"They need to create sound techniques and bat with balance so you can make really sound decisions ball after ball for long periods. At the moment, we’re failing many of these points, and the lower order is having to deal with it – either recovering the score or losing. It’s just too hard at the moment, we’ve got to clear those minds of our top order," Healy concluded.

With the Ashes on the horizon, Australia’s batters are under pressure to bounce back fast.