Prior to the ODI World Cup, Australia’s series loss to
South Africa highlighted a few areas of concern. The injury toll, the style of
the defeats after holding a 2-0 lead, and the form of certain crucial players
are difficult to overlook even though they were without a number of vital
players.
Australia was without Pat Cummins, Steve Smith,
Mitchell Starc, and Glenn Maxwell going into the five-match series. Before the
World Cup, all of those players still need to improve their match fitness and
intensity in India, but Australia leaves South Africa with greater injury
concerns.
With a fractured hand, Travis Head’s participation in
the World Cup is seriously questioned. The selectors must decide whether to
include him in the squad or not after coach Andrew McDonald stated following
the final ODI that he is unlikely to be eligible for the first part of the
competition. Sean Abbott will be watched in India after severing the webbing in
his hand.
Following a calf tear, Ashton Agar only participated
in one game in South Africa. Although Nathan Ellis (adductor) and Spencer
Johnson (hamstring) aren’t currently included in the 15-man World Cup roster,
both are important backup fast bowling options and both are expected to leave
South Africa with aches and pains.
Death bowling woes
In the final three games of the series, Australia’s
death bowling was atrocious, and it is a serious issue going into the World
Cup. In addition to the absence of Cummins and Starc, Mitchell Marsh was unable
to bowl, while Cameron Green missed two of the previous three games because of
a concussion. Because of all those problems, Marsh’s options as acting captain
were constrained.
The lack of Agar was also noticeably felt. Even though
he doesn’t bowl in the last overs, his middle-over abilities can assist put
additional pressure on the other teams going into the final few overs. However,
South Africa’s middle order battered even the seasoned three of Josh Hazlewood,
Adam Zampa, and Marcus Stoinis in the death overs.
In the final 10 overs, they conceded 96 runs in
Potchefstroom, 173 runs in Centurion, and 113 runs in Johannesburg. It would be
simple to dismiss it as evidence of Cummins and Starc’s value to the team, but
doing so would ignore Hazlewood and Zampa’s recent form. Execution was the
problem in the other games, and Australia’s death bowling since the last ODI
World Cup is not a strength. They are ahead of just New Zealand as the World
Cup qualifiers with the second-worst economy rate in death overs over the past
four years.
Middle order
The two middle orders in the series had a glaring
difference in quality, and Australia has long struggled with this issue. With
the exception of the Marnus Labuschagne-Ashton Agar partnership in game one,
the middle and lower orders all capitulated against spin and pace throughout
the whole series. They were 140 for 1 in the 15th over in Potchefstroom before
being knocked out for 227. Australia was 343 for 3 with 43 balls remaining and
lost 5 for 49 even in the game two victory in Bloemfontein.
Even more troubling are the overall returns of
Australia’s middle-order batters in the last four years. Only Pakistan,
Netherlands and Afghanistan have lower averages in the middle-order, and only
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have a lower strike-rate of the teams with better
averages.
Best 11 unknown
Australia intended to have three different lineups
available for the World Cup. Playing with eight hitters, including four
all-rounders and three specialised bowlers, was one alternative. The other two
alternatives were playing either three quicks and one spinner or seven hitters
and four bowlers, rotating between playing two quicks and two spinners.
However, the combined impact of all the problems
exposes gaps in each of the three combinations. Playing two spinners may not be
an option due to Agar’s fitness and unavailability in the World Cup buildup. If
Starc is committed to being the first-choice fast, it would necessitate leaving
out either captain Cummins or Hazlewood, even if he is well.
On some Indian surfaces, playing three quicks would be
risky, and that risk would increase if neither Maxwell nor Head were healthy
enough to compete and give their off-spin. Theoretically, playing eight batters
and four all-rounders improves the hitting. However, the middle order’s
performance is still a cause for concern, leaving Australia vulnerable with the
ball in the last seconds, much as they were in South Africa.