Former Pakistan paceman Waqar Younis has painted a bleak picture of Australia's cricketing future, predicting further hardship for Ricky Ponting's team as it desperately attempts to hang on to its world champion status.
Despite Australia making an impressive start to the third Test against India in Delhi, Younis believes the tourists are on the slide and may be in freefall for years.
The one-time master swing bowler says the lack of a quality spinner has brought Australia back to the pack.
"This is the first time the Australians have got a little exposed with no Glenn McGrath, no Shane Warne and (not) playing in your own country with the bouncy tracks," Younis, who took 373 wickets in 87 Tests, said at the launch of the ICC's women's World Cup in Sydney on Wednesday.
"You don’t really have any spinners and that's the biggest drawback at the moment for the Australians."
"I don’t really see anyone in the line-up who's going to do really good as a spinner."
"We're used to Shane Warne coming up and taking six, seven, eight wickets."
"That's not going to happen (and) it's not going to happen in the near future so Ricky Ponting's got to think differently now."
Asked if he thought Australian cricket was headed for a sustained down period, Younis replied: "It looks like it."
Younis also has concerns over his own country's cricketing future in the wake of coach Geoff Lawson's sacking and the paucity of international cricket being played in the troubled republic due to political unrest.
He believes Lawson was hard done by but the ending was inevitable.
"He hasn’t really done that badly if you look at it," Younis said of the former Australian quick.
"He may have lost a few games but he didn’t really have enough time to prove himself."
"I wasn't expecting things to be done this way but these things do happen in our part of the world."
"When we change the chairman the entire things changes and that's exactly what happened."
"Even before Geoff Lawson arrived in Pakistan he knew he was going to get the sack."
Younis was not sure when international cricket would return to Pakistan.
"It's very sad with the conditions back home at the moment," he said.
"One can’t do anything. You have to wait and hopefully soon we're going to see a Test team back in (Pakistan)."
"We want to see cricket back home."