Australia’s ODI Renaissance has led the team into the semi-finals of the ICC Men’s 2019 Cricket World Cup. But when the dream of a sixth world title became more realistic, they came across an unscrupulous England.
The first defeat at eight semi-finals ended with the hope of Australia to get the sixth title. In retrospect, it was an impressive run for a team that dropped to sixth in the ODI ranking of the MRF Tires ICC men, recovering from the aftershocks of six bilateral ODI series losses before the start of the year.
Australia won seven of the competition’s first eight games, but had a fair share of vulnerabilities and deficiencies. As coach Justin Langer had emphasized in the middle, the team might not be optimally placed. After rebuilding their lineup just before the tournament to accommodate David Warner and Steve Smith, their rudeness as a unit finally came to the fore in crisis situations.
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Good Things
The shape of their star players. David Warner brought his IPL exploits into the tournament, mixing his usual free-flow with notable awareness at the top. He just finished a short film of Rohit Sharma’s 648 runs. Aaron Finch fought for the win and complemented Warner perfectly with over 500 runs.
Steve Smith was not a compelling force, but lowered his head during the test phases and gave violent blows. Mitchell Starc, with the ball, was relentless, made a strong opening combination first with Pat Cummins, and then Jason Behrendorff, and finished at the top of the wickets list.
Need Improvement
A shaky mediator sometimes struggled to take responsibility. Regular hacking and changing meant the clubs kept changing hands over the course of the tournament. Injuries in the last stages hurt her further.
Excessive reliance on the Warner-Finch-Smith trio was evident in their mid-order breakdowns. Glenn Maxwell’s quick starts did not produce much results, and Marcus Stoinis, who suffered mediocre returns with the bat, expected more.
While Australia’s New Ball Pacers shone throughout the campaign, their spinners as a supportive hand were relatively reluctant. Their 123 over turns resulted in 764 runs and only 10 wickets.
New Talent
After only 19 ODIs participating in the tournament, there were doubts about Alex Carey’s credentials, especially as a lone wicket keeper with no replacement. When he was done, Carey had met all criteria and scored the second best Australian average for the tournament at 62.50.
Although it was his World Cup debut, Carey seemed unimpressed and shared the burden of middle order with Steve Smith. Carey lagged behind the stumps and missed Gilchrist’s best time [21] with 20 layoffs in ten games.
Australia Matches In Cricket World Cup
League stage
01 June: v Afghanistan, Bristol County Ground, Bristol – Australia won by seven wickets
06 June: v West Indies, Trent Bridge, Nottingham – Australia won by 15 runs
09 June: v India, The Oval, London – India won by 36 runs
12 June: v Pakistan, County Ground, Taunton – Australia won by 41 runs
15 June: v Sri Lanka, The Oval, London – Australia won by 87 runs
20 June: v Bangladesh, Trent Bridge, Nottingham – Australia won by 48 runs
25 June: v England, Lord’s, London – Australia won by 64 runs
29 June: v New Zealand, Lord’s, London – Australia won by 86 runs
06 July: v South Africa, Old Trafford, Manchester – South Africa won by 10 runs
Semi-final
11 July: v England, Edgbaston, Birmingham – England won by 8 wickets
