FOR all the success of the Big Bash, Australia is still struggling to come to grips with how to play Twenty20 cricket.
Yesterday's blockbuster against India would suggest the margin between a semi-final berth and elimination ultimately came down to one of the all-time great innings from Virat Kohli. 
But in reality the Aussies weren't all that impressive, and the David Warner middle-order experiment was at the centre of everything that went wrong. Sadly, had Australia not been carved to pieces by Kohli it would have been in the box seat to win the whole thing.
But when the butchered opening match against New Zealand is considered, and everything that contributed to that, going all the way would have almost been in spite of themselves.
"I think whoever won would go a long way in the tournament," said Darren Lehmann. "I think everyone thinks that around the world.
"But you can have all the excuses under the sun, at the end of the day we weren't good enough." In four matches Australia clicked once, with far too much selection uncertainty, dice rolling and card shuffling.
As a result, confidence appeared to be down for a side which last year cantered to a 50-over World Cup triumph by drowning out opposition teams with a tidal wave of self-belief.
At the heart of all the uncertainty and disjointedness was the gamble to play arguably the side's No. 1 opener Warner in the middle-order.
Warner is the epitome of confidence but for one of the rare times in his career, the dynamic left-hander seemed in two minds whenever he got to the crease and was unable to play his normal, destructive game.
As the tournament progressed it became clear this experiment wasn't working and ultimately it proved costly.
The best players should have been picked in their best positions.In the end Kohli's magic bounced them out, but when you scratch beneath the surface Australia got what it deserved.