'We do need to execute better as a whole' – Sean Abbott reflects on Australia’s dismal show with ball in recent times

Australia's bowlers find themselves in a precarious position as they confront a multitude of challenges with just three matches left on the road to the ODI World Cup. Their struggles persisted in Indore, where they suffered their fifth consecutive ODI defeat. Opting to bowl after winning the toss for the fourth time in five matches, the beleaguered bowlers could only watch as India posted a daunting 399 for 5 in their allotted 50 overs.

Reflecting on this disheartening performance, Australian paceman Sean Abbott, who featured in three of those four encounters, including the taxing Indore clash where he conceded 91 runs from his ten overs, candidly acknowledged their shortcomings. He emphasized the pressing need for improved execution, recognizing that their inability to hit the mark has become a glaring issue on the precipice of the World Cup.

"We've obviously just not executed as well as we would have liked, it’s all well and good to say that we'll take learnings out of these games and stuff like that, but we do need to execute better as a whole. It showed today when we were bowling, and it was a little bit the same in South Africa as well, as soon as we missed the stumps we were punished,” Abbott said as quoted by ESPNCricInfo.

‘I thought the death bowling was pretty good’ – Abbott's optimistic view as opposed to the statistics

One glaring issue for Australia has been their performance in the death overs. Across the last four games, they conceded a staggering 96 runs in the final ten overs in Potchefstroom, 173 in Centurion, 113 in Johannesburg, and 103 in Indore. This glaring deficiency was further exacerbated by a slow over-rate penalty, forcing the 31-year-old to deliver the crucial 50th over with only four fielders outside the circle. Nevertheless, Abbott did find a glimmer of hope, stating, 

"Although we went for 400 again today, I thought the death bowling was pretty good. It can still be improved a lot. But like I've mentioned a couple of times already, our execution and bringing those stumps into play, owning our lengths and putting pressure on the batters that way certainly has to improve and I have no doubt that we've got a very skilled attack."