Aussies should have coped with 'minor irritants': Ramiz Raja

Australia's attempts to blame the conditions and movements in front of sightscreen for the Test debacle against India came in for a scathing attack on Thursday from former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja who said such "minor irritants" could not be the reason for the defeat.

Raja said Australia should first realise that they no longer have the resources to be an invincible team and should concentrate on getting their acts together rather than dish out such excuses.

"I don't think that conditions or a little movement in front of sightscreen is the reason for Australia's defeat. When teams come to India, they are mentally prepared for a little bit of delay here and there. It is part and parcel of the game, that cannot be the reason for the defeat," Raja said in a telephonic interview.

Raja said a champion team like Australia should have coped with such "minor irritants", if there were any, instead of making it an issue after the series was over.

"It is difficult to tell the mind of these Australian players. They have a different social fabric. But they knew the conditions they will face in India. Because of the huge crowds, delays are a run of the mill affairs in India," he said.

Raja, who scored 2833 runs from 57 Tests and 5841 runs from 198 one-dayers, said Australia no longer had the team to dominate world cricket and the strategies they deployed against India were also questionable.

"Australia does not have the team to dominate. Their bowling has weakened considerably after the retirements of Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath. They no longer set the benchmark," he said.