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Usman Khawaja's World Cup hopes are on the line in India

Usman Khawaja. (AAP Image/Craig Golding)
Expert
24th July, 2018
39

Australia’s preparation for the 2019 World Cup continues next month, when a strong Australia A team travels to India to take on talent-stacked teams from South Africa and the host nation in a quadrangular series.

The reigning world champions are fresh from a rough tour of England, which saw them lose 5-0, highlighting the need to build depth ahead of next year’s tournament.

Starting on August 17, the quadrangular series will offer opportunities for the likes of wicketkeeper Alex Carey, paceman Chris Tremain, and batsmen Usman Khawaja and Peter Handscomb to press their claims.

Australia A have had regular one-day and first-class series against India A and South Africa A in recent years, and the Australian selectors appear to have put great stock in performances during these matches.

All three nations clearly take these matches seriously, having consistently fielded extremely strong line-ups. This year is no different, with South Africa A brimming with talent and experience, while India’s remarkable depth is evident in the quality of both their A and B sides, which will play in the quad series.

Australia’s weakness against spin will be tested once more as the venue for the quad series, Vijayawada, is known for supporting slow bowlers. The Aussies were embarrassed by English tweakers Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali during the 5-0 drubbing. If Australia want to pull off a surprise victory at the World Cup, they will likely need to beat either England or India, the latter who have an even better spin attack than the Poms.

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It follows then, that the selectors will be closely scrutinising the manner in which their batsmen cope with spin. They will be particularly interested in Khawaja and Handscomb, two batsmen with contrasting reputations against slow bowling.

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Handscomb is regarded as impressive against spin thanks to his nimble and assured footwork. Khawaja, however, is widely perceived as being leaden-footed and unsure opposed to tweakers, although this reputation is largely due to his struggles in Tests in Asia.

Khawaja’s play against spin in Australian domestic one-day cricket has been drastically better. In that competition, he has used his feet well and also employed the slog sweep to good effect. It will be fascinating to see whether he can play with similar confidence on what are expected to be slower and more spin-friendly tracks on the subcontinent.

Khawaja’s most obvious route into the ODI team would be as an opener alongside Aaron Finch. This position remains wide open given the uncertainty surrounding the future of the banned David Warner and the ordinary performances in England of new opener D’Arcy Short.

Usman Khawaja of Australia hits a shot

AAP Image/Paul Miller

Handscomb, meanwhile, shapes as a strong option in the middle order. Time and again since the last World Cup, Australia’s top order has set great platforms only for its middle men to subside against spin.

The ability to bat against spin is also a key selling point for Carey, who must be on the verge of ousting ODI captain and keeper Tim Paine. While Paine has repeatedly laboured against slow bowlers since returning to ODIs in January, Carey has looked good in his brief T20 and ODI careers.

Meanwhile, gifted Victorian quick Chris Tremain will have the chance to prove the selectors wrong for having overlooked him for the ODI series in England, in favour of the likes of Michael Neser and Kane Richardson.

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The tall right armer’s ability to swing the new ball should challenge the Indian and South African batsmen.

Australia’s best line-up
1. Usman Khawaja
2. D’Arcy Short
3. Travis Head (c)
4. Peter Handscomb
5. Marnus Labuschagne
6. Alex Carey (vc) (wk)
7. Jack Wildermuth
8. Ashton Agar
9. Chris Tremain
10. Mitch Swepson
11. Billy Stanlake

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