Australia have always been a force to be reckoned with at World Cups.
The five-time champions have lifted the coveted trophy more often than any other nation, including an unforgettable three-peat between 1999-2007.
The Australian were semi-finalists during the previous World Cup campaign in England, with nine members of the 15-player squad from 2019 returning for this year’s tournament in India.
Meanwhile, several of Australia’s high-profile stars, including David Warner and Mitchell Starc, are about to embark on their final World Cup campaign, adding extra motivation ahead of the quadrennial tournament.
“You can safely say there will be some change after every World Cup, this one in particular,” Australian captain Pat Cummins told Fox Cricket.
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However, the Australians enter the 2023 edition of the tournament off the back of some inconsistent white-ball form. After suffering a 3-2 series defeat to the Proteas in South Africa, Cummins’ men lost a three-match bilateral series against hosts India.
Despite recently losing five consecutive ODIs, Australia has rarely fielded a first-choice starting XI over the last 12 months. Steve Smith, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell missed the white-ball tour of South Africa, while Adam Zampa was sidelined for most of the India series.
The plethora of all-round options in Australia’s 15-player squad gives the team added flexibility, but glaring problems remain. Travis Head, Australia’s most consistent ODI batter over the last 12 months, won’t feature in the first half of the tournament due to a wrist injury, while almost every member of the middle order is searching for form.
Meanwhile, Australia’s skipper has only led the ODI side four times before, making him one of the least experienced captains in World Cup history.
However, courtesy of the Indian Premier League, Cummins and his teammates are well accustomed to India’s unique conditions. They know the pitches, the angles of each ground, the dimensions of the boundaries and where to play shots. The element of mystery is gone.
Cameron Green, for example, has already spent four months playing cricket in India this year. A couple of months ago, Marcus Stoinis described India as his “second home”.
“Since the World Cup in 2011, it feels like we’ve had hundreds of opportunities to go to India,” Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell told Fox Cricket.
“There’s opportunities to go over to India a fair bit more than there was in the previous generation.
“There’s at least three guys in the team who would have played more than ten IPLs each.
“Cameron Green is close enough to residency.
“That’s going to be the big challenge for India, whether that home advantage has been watered down.
“Don’t forget adapting to the culture as well, getting used to the food, getting used to the hotels, getting used to the way travel works over there. A lot of our players are a bit more numb to it these days.
“It was more of a culture shock for the previous generation going there.”
OPENERS
David Warner is in fine touch ahead of his third and final World Cup campaign, scoring fifties in each of last week’s three ODIs against India.
The Australian veteran will open alongside Mitchell Mitchell for the first leg of the tournament until Travis Head recovers from the wrist injury he sustained in South Africa last month.
Australian selectors gambled on carrying Head in the squad until he’s available, essentially leaving the five-time champions with 14 players in their touring party.
“We’re well aware of the risks,” chair of selectors George Bailey told reporters last week.
Marsh has only opened six times in ODIs, but the small sample size has been promising, averaging 73.00 with a strike rate of 125.00 at the top of the order.
“If you can get Mitchell Marsh on small grounds in form, hitting the ball hard, he can be destructive. He can literally take a game away from you,” Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja told Fox Cricket.
“I’ve got no doubt he can perform at the top in India.”
Warner, Marsh and Head will be tasked with getting Australia off to an explosive start throughout what’s expected to be a high-scoring tournament.
“Runs in the Powerplay are going to be important,” Head told Fox Cricket.
“They’re going to be high-scoring games.”
Marsh or Green to open with Warner? | 02:20
MIDDLE ORDER
Australia will rely heavily on former captain Steve Smith throughout the tournament, with the New South Welshman expected to bat at his preferred No. 3 position until Head returns from injury.
“(Smith’s) experience and knowledge will be a big contributing factor for Australia,” three-time World Cup champion Adam Gilchrist told Fox Cricket.
“He constructs an innings, he’s a bit of a craftsman in that regard, and sometimes that’s what it takes in India.”
Smith will be accompanied by close mate Marnus Labuschagne, who was parachuted into Australia’s World Cup squad at the eleventh hour after Ashton Agar’s injury created a vacancy in the touring party.
“I’ve loved the way he’s grabbed the opportunity through South Africa and this series in India, Bailey said of Labuschagne.
“I’ve loved the intent, particularly starting his innings, and his ability to maintain the momentum of the starts the top order have been getting.”
However, it remains to be seen there’s room Smith and Labuschagne in Australia’s starting XI when Marsh returns to the middle order.
Meanwhile, Glenn Maxwell will be used as a floater, sliding up and down the order depending on the match situation and conditions. The Victorian is still recovering from the gruesome leg break he sustained last year, with suggestions he could be ‘hidden’ in the field to prevent reaggravating the injury.
“He might have some games where we can try and find some quiet spots for him in the field,” Bailey said.
Maxwell to play through pain for Aussies | 01:11
ALL-ROUNDERS
Australia is fortunate to have a plethora of world-class all-rounder at their disposal.
Marcus Stoinis has been a stalwart of the national white-ball team for over eight years, but the 34-year-old has missed Australia’s four most recent ODIs after hurting his hamstring.
The West Australian’s ODI form since the previous World Cup has been cause for concern, averaging 16.80 in his last 27 knocks with no fifties. However, Stoinis is a proven finisher, while his recent contributions with the ball have been more than handy.
Meanwhile, Cameron Green scored a much-needed half-century during Tuesday’s warm-up match against Pakistan, his first fifty since the Indian Premier League.
“He’s still learning,” Warner told Fox Cricket’s Mark Howard this week.
“It’s going to be scary when he’s the ultimate package.”
Green and Stoinis appear to be locked in a battle for the No. 7 position, but McDonald asserted there was a way to squeeze them both in the playing XI, largely depending on conditions and player availability.
“I don’t think you can have too many (all-rounders),” Cummins told Fox Cricket.
“If anything, it just gives you lots of flexibility.”
Sean Abbott is unlikely to feature in Australia’s tournament opener against India, but the New South Welshman will almost certainly be called upon at some stage. He blasted a maiden ODI fifty against India last week, verifying his all-rounder status.
“He’s a wicket-taker, quite an impressive bowler,” former Australian batter Mark Waugh said of Abbott.
“He’s very experienced, and knows what to do in certain situations through the game. He can bowl in the middle, he can bowl at the death.
“If you need a job to be done, then you know what you’re going to get with Sean Abbott. He always delivers 100 per cent when he gets the chance.”
Meanwhile, in an added boost for the Australians, Marsh has started bowling again, giving Cummins an extra option in the field.
“The conditions (in India) are going to vary from place to place, so you’ll need to have a variety of options available with your bowling attack,” Waugh continued.
“Because you’ve got so many all-rounders there, you can mix and match depending on the opposition and conditions.”
WICKETKEEPERS
Alex Carey has been Australia’s first-choice ODI gloveman for over five years, but the 32-year-old’s recent form with the bat is hard to ignore.
Since he stumped Jonny Bairstow at Lord’s, Carey has averaged 18.17 across formats, registering scores of 8, 5, 20, 10, 28, 3, 6, 12, 99, 2, 14 and 11.
Meanwhile, reserve wicketkeeper Josh Inglis blasted an entertaining 48 (30) during Tuesday’s warm-up against Pakistan, reminding national selectors of his big-hitting capabilities.
“(Inglis’) batting is good enough to stand on its own,” Cummins said.
“He’s a gun player.”
It’s unlikely that Carey will lose his spot to Inglis during the World Cup, but the South Australian will be desperate to rediscover his mojo when the tournament kicks off this weekend.
“There’s no doubt Josh is playing an up-tempo game, the laps and reverse laps, he’s always been an option for us, not only in the keeping space but in the batting space as well,” McDonald said.
“We feel as though he may have a role in the tournament as a bat only, and if something was to happen to Alex, we’ve got a capable back-up who is not coming in raw into this environment.
“We’ve been impressed with what he has offered, but Carey over a period of time has been ultra impressive.”
QUICKS
It’s going to be a gruelling tournament for Australia’s quicks, so don’t expect to see Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins in the starting XI for every match.
Starc will be crucial during the Powerplay and at the death. The left-armer was the leading wicket-taker in the previous two World Cups, boasting the lowest strike rate in history among cricketers with 200 wickets.
“It’s going to be pitched up, and he’ll allow the ball to swing,” Warner said of Starc’s bowling.
“If it comes back late, which is generally does with the new ball, you can’t do anything about it. That’s the X-factor that he brings.
“And his death bowling is outrageous.”
Hazlewood, who inexplicably wasn’t selected for the 2019 tournament, is No. 2 on the ICC ODI bowling rankings, and has indicated he intends to continue playing 50-over cricket after the World Cup.
Meanwhile, Cummins has only played four ODIs over the last 12 months, with the strain of being a multi-format pace bowler becoming increasingly apparent.
The world-class trio will be supported by Abbott when fatigue, injury and workload management inevitably take their toll over the coming six weeks.
“The philosophy going into a World Cup is not being stuck with one structure,” Bailey said.
“There are a lot of things that can change – the surface, the team you are coming against and in a tournament like this who is actually available from game to game. So having options is really important.”
Starc bags hat-trick against the Dutch! | 00:53
SPINNERS
When Ashton Agar was ruled out of the World Cup with an injury setback, national selectors took the opportunity to shoehorn Labuschagne into the 15-player touring party.
It was a gamble, leaving Australia with one striker spinner in its touring party – Adam Zampa.
The leg-spinner might be the most important member of Australia’s squad ahead of the World Cup. He’s been the team’s leading wicket-taker in ODIs since the 2019 tournament, with 77 scalps at 22.89; no cricketer from a full-member nation boasts better numbers during that period.
Zampa will be accompanied by Maxwell, who served as Australia’s strike spinner during the 2015 World Cup on home soil.
“I‘m not sure it’s fair on Maxi to say he’s not a specialist spinner,” Bailey said.
“I think his white-ball one-day and T20 spinning record is pretty handy. And I think we can very much consider him a frontline option. So we consider that we’ve got two frontline spinners within our first-choice XI.”
Will in-form Maxwell be the Aussie hero? | 01:36
In the two ODIs he’s played since his return from injury, Maxwell has taken five wickets at 14.80, with the Victorian declaring he’s prepared to bowl lengthy spells throughout the tournament if needed.
“In an ideal world, 100 per cent, they would want two spinners in the squad,” Khawaja said.
“As the tournament progresses, those wickets are going to start spinning more and more as they get more tired.”
TOURING RESERVES
Victoria’s Matthew Short and New South Wales spinner Tanveer Sangha were named as Australia’s touring reserves for the World Cup, meaning they can slot into the squad if injury strikes.
Short was named player of the Big Bash League last summer, while Sangha has been touted as Zampa’s long-term replacement in the national ODI side.
AUSTRALIAN SQUAD
Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith, Alex Carey (wk), Josh Inglis, Sean Abbott, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc
ODI BATTING FORM IN 2023
Marnus Labuschagne – 464 runs at 51.55
Mitchell Marsh – 417 runs at 46.33
David Warner – 390 runs at 43.33
Travis Head – 241 runs at 48.20
Alex Carey – 185 runs at 23.12
Steve Smith – 137 runs at 27.40
Josh Inglis – 128 runs at 21.33
Sean Abbott – 123 runs at 17.57
Marcus Stoinis – 104 runs at 17.33
Cameron Green – 89 runs at 17.80
Glenn Maxwell – 13 runs at 6.50
ODI BOWLING FORM IN 2023
Adam Zampa – 15 wickets at 32.33
Sean Abbott – 11 wickets at 38.72
Mitchell Starc – 9 wickets at 24.66
Josh Hazlewood – 8 wickets at 37.25
Marcus Stoinis – 7 wickets at 38.42
Cameron Green – 5 wickets at 64.60
Glenn Maxwell – 4 wickets at 11.75
Pat Cummins – 2 wickets at 51.50
George Bailey explains ODI WC selections | 01:24
MATCHES
Sunday, October 8 – India v Australia (Chennai), 7.30pm
Thursday, October 12 – Australia v South Africa (Lucknow), 7.30pm
Monday, October 16 – Australia v Sri Lanka (Lucknow), 7.30pm
Friday, October 20 – Australia v Pakistan (Bengaluru), 7.30pm
Wednesday, October 25 – Australia v Netherlands (Delhi), 7.30pm
Saturday, October 28 – Australia v New Zealand (Dharamasala), 4pm
Saturday, November 4 – England v Australia (Ahmedabad), 7.30pm
Tuesday, November 7 – Australia v Afghanistan (Mumbai), 7.30pm
Saturday, November 11 – Australia v Bangladesh (Pune), 4pm
