Sydney - Former Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has laid the blame for Australia's poor showing in South Africa at the feet of the batsmen, who have the experience required to beat the Proteas.
Haddin said that the likes of David Warner, Aaron Finch,
Steve Smith, and George Bailey were the ones who needed to improve, and that
blaming a rookie pace attack was not fair.
The Proteas lead the series two nil after big wins in
Gauteng, where the Aussie batsmen failed to fire on batting-friendly decks,
while the hosts battered a second string pace group.
Haddin said on The Big Sports Breakfast: "At the end of
game I heard Davey (Warner) and Steve Smith talking about how our bowlers need
to step up a little bit.
"But we had a couple of guys on debut, we had all our
senior batters there. I think the batters were a little bit disappointing to be
honest.
"Fifties aren't going to cut it. We need guys like
Davey to get a start and go on and get some big scores.
"Yeah it was a tough day for the bowlers but those guys
are on debut, they'll be better for the run."
He added that this was not a new trend, and that the bowlers
had to suffer in the Tests against Sri Lanka too, when it was the batsmen who
failed.
Haddin continued: "It sort of happened a little bit in
the Sri Lanka series with Nathan Lyon as well.
"I think the batters need to have a bit of a look at
themselves. We've got all our senior bats there, we're not missing anyone from
that end."
The Aussies have three more ODIs to play in South Africa, and must win them all to take the series.