- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Glenn Maxwell’s batting may have been on the slide the past six months but his bowling has blossomed. So much so that Australia should use him as their sole spinner at times in the World Cup.
Australia’s biggest weapon at the tournament will be its ferocious quicks. Maxwell’s improved bowling could allow them to play Mitchell Johnson, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and James Faulkner as a four-pronged pace battery.
The home side rested the in-form Johnson and Josh Hazlewood from Friday’s match against England yet still tormented the tourists with their fast men. Bowling consistently between 145kmh and 150kmh, Starc and Cummins rattled England’s fairly strong batting line-up.
Operating on an SCG pitch which did not offer extravagant pace or bounce, the young pacemen consistently hurried the English batsmen. By the fourth over, England were 3-12 and their hopes had all but evaporated of making the kind of 280-plus score typically needed to really test Australia Down Under.
The English Sky Sports commentators suggested before the match that England would be relieved by the absence of Johnson and Hazlewood. The fact that Australia still skittled their top order underlines the depth Australia possess among their fast men.
What’s more is that all of their World Cup quicks not only gain disconcerting bounce but are capable of the kind of speeds which unnerve the opposition. There is not a batsman in the world who is relaxed against 150kmh offerings.
Johnson proved this during his reign of terror last summer, at times unsettling even supreme South African batsmen AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla. Add in the late swing afforded by the two white balls used in ODIs and express pacemen can be even more potent than they are in Tests.
Cummins’ inclusion in Australia’s World Cup squad was somewhat of a gamble considering his fragile chassis and inexperience at international level. There is no denying his ability though.
Bowling with a wonderful rhythm, none of the English batsmen looked at ease opposed to Cummins, even centurion Eoin Morgan. After mostly bowling with only moderate pace during this season’s domestic One Day Cup as he made a tentative comeback to cricket, Cummins has rediscovered his venomous best.
During his spell with the new ball he reached 151kmh and was consistently rapid, maintaining an average speed of 147kmh. With Starc also nudging 150kmh at the other end, they made for an intimidating combination.
Add Johnson to that mix and you have an attack which would prompt heart palpitations among even the elite ODI sides.
England couldn’t withstand the heat on a relatively placid pitch and will be Australia’s first opponents in the World Cup. On the evidence of Friday’s match, Australia should unleash Johnson, Starc and Cummins in that game at the MCG with a licence to shatter stumps.
Australia’s second match is against Bangladesh on arguably the world’s fastest deck at the Gabba. The Bangladesh batsmen would be overjoyed should one of the host’s speed kings be rested in favour of playing spinner Xavier Doherty. An all-pace attack is a no-brainer for that match too.
How well it works in those first two fixtures would then dictate selection strategies for the rest of the tournament. Their remaining matches in Pool A are against New Zealand in Auckland, followed by Afghanistan at the WACA, Sri Lanka at the SCG and Scotland in Hobart.
Doherty is a serviceable spinner but is merely a run saver rather than a match winner. He will be of value at times, no doubt, but an all-pace attack could help Australia blast opponents into oblivion.
The merits of such a strategy will hinge on Maxwell’s form with the ball. The enigmatic all-rounder had a horrific start to his ODI career bowling-wise. After eight matches he had taken 0-171.
Since then he has taken 24 wickets at 34, which are very respectable figures for a fifth bowler in an ODI. Most significantly, his past 10 matches have seen him snare 12 wickets at 24 against strong opponents in South Africa, Pakistan and England.
His workload has increased as has his confidence. Maxwell has a huge role to play in the World Cup and not just with the blade.