Ian Healy goes ballistic again, shifts rage to new target after Shamar Joseph drama

Ian Healy has once again launched a fiery attack on the Australia National Cricket Team, especially the batting coach Michael Di Venuto. The former Australian wicketkeeper blamed Michael Di Venuto for the national team's worrying dip in the batting standards in Test cricket.

The well-known broadcaster’s fiery outburst came after Australia’s 159-run win over the West Indies in the first Test at Kensington Oval in Barbados. Australia’s bowling unit, led by captain Pat Cummins, did the heavy lifting yet again, as the underwhelming top order put them at the risk of a loss.

Ian Healy slams Australia's batting Woes, blames coach for decline

With Steve Smith sidelined due to injury, the responsibility fell on younger shoulders, and they failed to deliver against the West Indies. Sam Konstas, brought in after Marnus Labuschagne’s poor show in the WTC Final 2025 against South Africa, failed badly, scoring just 3 and 5 in his two innings.

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After the first test, Ian Healy launched a scathing attack at Di Venuto, saying his tenure is the main reason for the lack of progress among the batters in the traditional format of the game. He expressed disappointment that Australia’s top order continues to crumble under pressure, especially in challenging conditions that were also exposed during the WTC Final 2025 loss at Lord’s.

Even in Barbados, the Australian team could only muster 180 runs in the first innings. It was a gritty partnership between Travis Head and Beau Webster that helped them stretch the lead and eventually set a target beyond 300. But Josh Inglis and Cameron Green’s struggle against the West Indies seamers remained a cause of concern in the red-ball game.

Our batting has regressed under my friend: Ian Healy slams Michael Di Venuto

Ian Healy was quoted as saying by SEN, “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 are not enough runs being scored around the nation either.”

The former wicketkeeper-batter further Ian Healy noted, “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.”

Raising concerns over the Australian team's top-order struggles, Healy said that the players need to focus purely on performance. He criticized their inability to handle pressure, saying poor shot selection and shaky techniques are troubling the red-ball team lately.

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Ian Healy calls for immediate improvement in red-ball batting

Healy believes the batters must stay calm, build solid techniques, and play with better balance to make smart decisions over long periods. He also expressed frustration that the lower order is constantly left to rescue the innings, warning that it's becoming too difficult to recover each time.

He signed off by saying, “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 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.”