I certainly think it's painfully obvious that they need to work harder at their basics and fielding in particular. But this isn't a test side problem, but a problem throughout the First Class ranks. How the hell do these dudes make the Australian side with poor skills? We aren't putting enough emphasis on the Shield. Every state side should be fielding at such a high level that once a player gets the call up they should only need someone to maintain their skills, not develop them.
I was going to say something similar but I had to run. It's my opinion that the (hopefully) new set of selectors sit down and pick out 25 youngsters they think are the future of Australian cricket, and send them regularly as a single unit to the Cricket Academy (national and state) to develop those skills in their entirety. I also think that Mr Young and his state and national team and academy counterparts need to sit down and develop a plan for those basic skills that will be taught, that will be followed through from youth to senior teams. Justin Langer (batting coach), Troy Cooley (bowling coach) and any other coaches need to do the same sort of thing. I'm sure they already have personalised plans for each player already, but I think they need to be indoctrinated following a basic template from a young age. They may already do this stuff, but if not I think it needs to be done. Too often in first class cricket you get players of varying abilities come into Test cricket, where they should all be a certain standard at least.
I'd also like the Australia A team to be a permanent touring team 12 months of the year, with players coming and going regularly/as needed. I'd be organising tour matches against provincial, state and county cricket teams often, with good mixtures of ODI, T20 and long format games, as well as different playing conditions. I want the make up of the side to consist of mainly under 25's, with only the select few older players making the squad. Not much point trying to develop a 32 year old stalwart.
