Australia completed their six-match ODI tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa on Wednesday. They won the Zimbabwe leg in Harare 3-0 but were comprehensively outplayed in South Africa in the first two ODIs before a consolation win in a rain-shortened game three. The tour was seen as a key reconnaissance trip for Australia ahead of the ODI World Cup at the same venues next year. They leave with possibly more questions than answers.
How do they stop the middle-order spin cycle?
One of the key aims of the tour was to find a middle-order batting combination that would work in those conditions next year after cycling through a number of unsuccessful combinations over the past 12 months. After the positives of the Zimbabwe series, where Josh Inglis and Matt Renshaw made centuries at Nos. 4 and 6 and Oliver Peake showed some impressive finishing skills at No. 7 in the second ODI in Harare, the South Africa series exposed some frailties to leave them in a spin cycle both literally and figuratively.
They cycled through three different No. 4s, two different No. 5s, two different No. 6s and three different No. 7s across the six games with none of Inglis, Renshaw, Peake, Alex Carey, Cameron Green and Jack Edwards batting in the same spot more than four times.
The injuries to Green in Zimbabwe and Inglis in South Africa did not help. But even with those, their overall play in the middle overs, particularly against spin, was exposed and the lack of finishing power is a worry heading.
Cracks appeared in the final ODI against Zimbabwe where they narrowly escaped defeat after collapsing. Keshav Maharaj and Bjorn Fortuin exposed them properly in Durban and Johannesburg to turn the tide after Australia's openers had got off to blazing starts.
Of the 20 international sides to have played ODI cricket since the 2023 World Cup, Australia have the poorest batting average against left-arm orthodox spin - just 22.95. Individually, Green has been dismissed eight times at an average of 18.62; Marsh seven times at 13.85; Inglis eight times at 11.75. How they rectify those numbers and bed down a middle-order combination with only six scheduled ODIs left before the World Cup remains to be seen.
Is the top three set in stone?
In theory, the opening partnership of Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh should be locked for the World Cup. They made phenomenal starts across the tour with Marsh crushing four half-centuries in six innings while Head carved a century in Zimbabwe and 84 at the Wanderers.
But offsetting the positives is their inability to kick on. The spotlight has shone on Australia's shaky middle-order but the inability of their top three to make big scores is worth noting.
Australia's top three have only made six ODI centuries collectively since the last World Cup, which ranks ninth globally, and they have the second-poorest average of the top nine behind only West Indies. In the 2023 World Cup win, Marsh, Head and David Warner made six centuries between them in 11 games.
Marsh's troubles against left-arm spin is a reason he can't get into the middle overs. He is in career-best ball-striking form in white-ball cricket but has not faced more than 63 balls in his last nine ODIs despite passing 36 seven times.
Cooper Connolly showed promise at No. 3 with two half-centuries in Zimbabwe. But he too failed to convert his starts after reaching 20 in five of his six innings on tour. He also bizarrely got bogged down in a couple of those innings where he struck at under 70 in innings that lasted more than 30 balls.
Who will give Australia their middle-overs wickets?
Like the middle-order batting, the middle-overs bowling is a concern coming out of the tour. Personnel had a part to play with Josh Hazlewood only playing three games, Mitchell Starc two and Pat Cummins one. Nathan Ellis' form was outstanding but his side strain midway through the second ODI against South Africa highlighted the issue.
Australia had no problem taking powerplay wickets on the tour, even when the likes of Xavier Bartlett and Spencer Johnson played in the absence of the big three. But opponents have been able to rebuild easily. Middle-order centuries to Matthew Breetzke, Temba Bavuma and David Miller in the South Africa series exposed the issues quite clearly.
Adam Zampa's form in 2026 has been a concern. He is averaging 48.72 and striking at 51.7 in his last 11 ODIs. He has been battling neck and shoulder issues. But it was telling that he had an impact in game three in South Africa when he was able to work in tandem with Starc and Cummins in the middle overs. Developing middle-overs wicket-takers beyond the experienced five is a must for Australia.
How do they solve the fifth bowler problem?
This knits in with the middle-order batting and middle-overs wicket-taking issues. The retirement of Glenn Maxwell has left them short on two fronts. There were positive signs from Renshaw with the ball in Zimbabwe but South Africa's superior spin hitters took to him thereafter. Peake and Connolly showed promise but both are very inexperienced in terms of their ability to contain or dismiss top-quality middle-order batters at international level.
The shoulder injury to Green was untimely. He remains the major piece of the puzzle as a seam-bowling allrounder but he has scarcely bowled in white-ball cricket in recent times and his ODI batting has regressed since his 47-ball century against South Africa last year.
Edwards bowled impressively as a late inclusion in the South Africa series, including taking a maiden five-for in his second game, but whether his batting can provide what Australia need in their top seven is a question. Liam Scott is another who got a taste of ODI cricket in Bangladesh but was not selected for this tour. Beau Webster was also considered for the tour but remains a Test-only option for now.