Team Australia Analysis for ICC World Cup 2019

Australia Team Analysis

Australia have won the World Cup the maximum number of times and will definitely be dark horses this time around. The Australia squad at the 2019 World Cup comprises of Aaron Finch (captain), Steve Smith, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey (wicket-keeper), Pat Cummins, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Shaun Marsh, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Jhye Richardson, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc and Marcus Stoinis.

Strengths: Australia will naturally play to their strengths, one of which is fast bowling. In Mitchell Starc, they have one of the world’s best bowlers provided he is fit and agile enough to take on the challenge while he will be backed up adequately by top bowlers like Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jason Behrendorff, Jhye Richardson and Pat Cummins. This will naturally be a major plus point for Australia while their spin duo of Adam Zampa and Nathan Lyon are also potent enough to unsettle opposition batsmen. David Warner seems to have got his Midas touch back while Steve Smith and Glen Maxwell can be dangerous along with Aaron Finch. Usman Khawaja and Shaun Marsh are solid batsmen while Alex Carey is also settling in nicely to the squad.

Weaknesses: Australia has recently recovered from a bad run of form and will be looking to get their act together. Finding the right balance of the side is crucial for Australia, something it has not got right in the recent past. Finch’s leadership skills will be put to the test while players like Maxwell, Zampa, Khawaja and the skipper himself have to be consistent enough. Batting weaknesses, particularly when it comes to finding the right combinations could plague Australia although their bowling lineup looks sorted.

Opportunities: Australia will look to unleash their fast bowling battery on opposition batsmen on fast and swinging pitches in England. Picking up early wickets and then bringing down the economy rate with their spinners will be a major aim for the team. On the other hand, they will look to get explosive starts from Warner and Finch with Smith ideally looking to bat through the innings while Maxwell brings in some firepower at the end and in the middle overs.

Improvement Areas: Australia’s batting lineup can capitulate against quality spin bowling if they are not careful. This is one major area of improvement along with building partnerships in the middle overs and of course, finding the right batting combinations. There could be some over-reliance on Mitchell Starc to lead the bowling attack and he has to be in peak form without picking up injuries.

Leave a Reply