Having won the ODI World Cup five times, including a
hat-trick in 1999, 2003, and 2007, Australia has a proud history in the
tournament. They also won on home soil in 2015 under the leadership of Michael
Clarke, but they were defeated by the English juggernaut in the semi-finals in
2019. However, they have since won a major championship when they somewhat
surprisingly won the 2021 T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. Regardless
of how Australia enters a global event, they frequently manage to remain involved
when it counts.
It had once appeared promising but has since turned
sour. They went up 2-0 in South Africa to start their September lead-in, which
may have included too many games. However, the host team won the next three
games to win the series. Before obtaining a consolation win in Rajkot, they
were subsequently soundly defeated by India in the first two games. Although
the top order appears to be in good shape, there are doubts lower in the order
and issues with the death bowling.
Marnus Labuschagne, who wasn’t in the one-day plans a
month ago, was substituted in for the injured Ashton Agar after the selectors
decided to keep Travis Head out of the tournament due to his injury. Head is
not anticipated to be available until the halfway point of the group stage
after breaking his hand in South Africa. Adam Zampa is the only remaining
specialist spinner for Australia, and Glenn Maxwell will be under a lot of
pressure.
The members of this group who also play for the
20-over team will qualify for the T20 World Cup in June, but in terms of
50-over cricket, this competition will herald a change in the guard. By the
time of the following ODI World Cup, Steven Smith, David Warner, Maxwell, and
David Warner will all be 38 years old. Starc and possibly Josh Hazlewood will
have also given up. Even Pat Cummins might not live to 2027. Although Mitchell
Marsh is expected to lead the ODI team for the next four years, that may be
pushing it.