That is the message Australia 's coaching staff are giving to some of their batters at the start of a huge 12-month run of Test cricket. As an example, Smith, Hayden and Ponting had similar team and median percentages even though Smith averaged 17 runs fewer per dismissal. "Spin overs have dropped, and seam bowlers are averaging under 20, and batters are averaging mid-30s. Two of Australia's current domestic coaches in Victoria's Chris Rogers and New South Wales' Brad Haddin also averaged over 52 while McDonald averaged 46.31 for Victoria. "[The current Shield batters] haven't got the runs that potentially previous generations have, but put a bit of context around that," McDonald said.