Australia's fielding 'average at best' - Lehmann

Not much went wrong for Australia in their 208-run victory over New Zealand in the first Test at the Gabba. The top order could hardly have put in a stronger performance. The attack was a little off the mark with the new ball, but 20 wickets was proof that they did enough right over the course of five days. But there was one area of Australia's game that was distinctly sloppy: the fielding.

"Average, at best," was how coach Darren Lehmann summed up the fielding effort at the Gabba. Catches were dropped, too many balls were either not stopped or not chased hard enough. It cost Australia little in the end, for they put enough runs on the board and created enough opportunities to still win by a comfortable margin. But Lehmann expects more in the field at the WACA.

"Even our ground-fielding, and we pride ourselves on that," he said. "So there's a bit of work coming up for the lads. We could've stopped a lot more balls that we didn't."

Notably, Lehmann mentioned two of the newest members of the side - Usman Khawaja and Joe Burns - as players who needed to work on their fielding to lift it to international standard. Khawaja's lack of urgency in the field was the source of some criticism during his previous chances in Test cricket, and at the Gabba his former team-mate Simon Katich joked on ABC Grandstand's commentary that an all-run six could be on the cards when Khawaja chases to the boundary.

Burns was in the firing line at short leg. He took a simple catch there late in the game but did not always appear to have the reflexes and balance desirable in the role; tough chances didn't stick in each innings, and he also dropped an easier one that Australia feared was a life for Kane Williamson, but which replays suggested had not come off the bat.

"He just needs work," Lehmann said. "We saw him out doing that [before play]. He is just going to have to do more work, more time on his fielding and probably Uzzy to be fair. They've got to move better and field at the level you'd expect of international cricketers."

However, other members of the side struggled in the field as well. Adam Voges dropped a sitter at slip off Mitchell Johnson that gave Doug Bracewell a life, and Nathan Lyon at point spilled what he should have taken in the second innings when Martin Guptill failed to keep the ball down off a Johnson delivery.

In a close match, such missed opportunities can prove decisive, but Australia had the running of the Brisbane Test from the time their top three piled on the runs on day one. However, Lehmann said he would also be looking for improvement from the fast bowlers at the WACA, after they failed to make New Zealand's openers play often enough in both innings at the Gabba.

"Our batting was very impressive, and I think we improved with the ball," Lehmann said. "I don't think we bowled as well as we'd have liked. I don't think we bowled with the new ball as well as we could've, and give New Zealand credit - they left well and made us work for it - but we've certainly got to get better in that area ... I think they had to play at less than half the balls with the new ball in the first 20 overs, so that's something we'll look at there.

"But they got 20 wickets and I thought in patches they were very, very good - all Mitches to be fair; Mitchell Marsh got a couple of key wickets. Lyon was very good in the second innings, and to bowl them out in 83 overs and 88 overs was very good, so can't complain too much, just me being picky."