Here we are now, two months away from this year’s World Cup and it is clear that Australia is building up really well leading up to be able to defend the title.
It has taken Australia’s ODI squad seven series defeats since early 2017 series against New Zealand to finally find some winning form. The recent series win against India, who are ranked No. 2 in ODIs and also considered tournament favourites by many, shows that the current Australian ODI squad has what it takes to win the World Cup.
Australia looked the dominant team this series and despite India having experienced players in their team, the first two ODIs that Australia lost could’ve been anyone’s game.
Australia largely struggled to bat well during the middle overs in the past, losing clumps of wickets and failing to build big partnerships. This seems to have improved drastically as of late, with Usman Khawaja in supreme form opening the batting and Peter Handscomb playing well in the middle order.
During the India series, Australia’s top and middle order have done superbly to allow the likes of Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Ashton Turner to go hard towards the end. Australia’s batting order now looks very stable. The only point of concern for Australia heading into the World Cup is the form of skipper Aaron Finch.
However, his well-constructed innings of 93 against India in the third ODI may well help his cause of returning to form.
The next five matches against Pakistan in the UAE are another opportunity for him to get his form back ahead of the World Cup.
Additionally, Australia’s bowling unit is looking formidable. The bowlers have stood up and done their job every time. Pat Cummins and Jhye Richardson have done a brilliant job with Adam Zampa in the form of his life, taking crucial wickets and breaking partnerships in the middle overs which has been key to Australia’s success against India.
Australia also have plenty of combinations for fast and spin bowling and it will be interesting to see which way they go for the World Cup.
Besides the winning form of the current ODI squad, these are some serious reasons why the inclusion of Steve Smith and David Warner could potentially disrupt the stability of the current team and could be the cause of Australia’s demise come World Cup time.
They have not played international cricket for a year and there’s no guarantee that they will play well.
Both of the players recently also had elbow surgeries, adding further doubt on their abilities.
Changes to a squad that is already doing well are going to disrupt the style of play.
Allowing Smith and Warner to come back and play the World Cup means we are not rewarding players who are doing well. Who do Australia drop from the current squad to fit these two players?
Is it fair for Smith and Warner to walk right back into the team and those who are doing well currently be dropped, without knowing if Smith and Warner are as good as they were a year ago?
There’s never really a good reason to change a winning team.
The hostile nature of English fans will play in the minds of Warner and Smith, which could also affect the rest of the players in the squad.
Whilst there’s no denying Smith and Warner were two of our best players a year ago, things have changed and they have not played international cricket for a year. Smith and Warner simply will not have enough game time before the World Cup.
Unless they both absolutely blaze the IPL on fire, Australia is better off without these two players if we’re to win the World Cup.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
Finch couldn't get a 50 off James Packer.
Paul
Roar Guru
Those are fair concerns but there is still time for these guys to find form, if they're not already there. I'm also not clear how they might disrupt a style of play. on current form, I'd have a side that has Warner and Khawaja opening, Smith at 3, then Handscomb, Maxwell, etc. The guys coming out would be S Marsh (who would still tour) and Finch, the rest of the lineup stay as is and in their same positions in the order.
Paul
Roar Guru
Be very careful Narayan, this side has won exactly 3 game in a row out of 20 odd we lost. Granted it was a terrific effort under the circumstances, but leaving Smith & Warner out of the squad would be akin to India leaving Shikar Darwan and Kohli at home.
Naz
Roar Rookie
My concern with regards to their form and also potentially disrupting the style of play and 'togetherness' of the current squad remains.
Naz
Roar Rookie
I think the difference between the last time Australia toured England and now is the players have had so many more ODI games to play together in the absence of Smith and Warner and they've found a way to win.
Naz
Roar Rookie
Realistically speaking, if Finch scores a 50 or two against Pakistan, he won't be dropped from the side.
Naz
Roar Rookie
The reasons provided in the article includes doubt over their form. They can say they're ready all they like. Warner didn't anticipate that encounter with De Kock. It happened anyway. This is a hypothetical proposition that I will not entertain any further. Different batsman play different bowlers differently. No one can predict with certainty that any team is going to win the World Cup. Again, the last point is irrelevant because it applies to every team.
Paul
Roar Guru
The makeup of the World Cup squad is all about managing risk. You take players you believe are most likely to succeed in the conditions against the opposition. Remember the last time Austrlia toured England for an ODI series with pretty much this side, minus Warner & Smith? We lost 5 nil, in part because we didn't play well in the conditions, certainly not well enough to beat England. Warner and Smith are certainties to tour, if fit. They're proven ability in the conditions trumps any other argument. Whether they make the best XI is all about performance and that will be seen over the coming months.
TJ
Guest
I really don't get why everyone is against having Smith and Warner come back in now. Warner has clearly been our best ODI batsman for years now and Smith is one of the best (arguably the best) Australian batsman we've seen since Bradman. As long as they are both fit, they have to be there.
Dwanye
Roar Rookie
Two words, that lots of fans get upset and lost with selectors choices. ‘Current form’.
Tony H
Roar Pro
12 months ago is not now. And Warner is a solution to a problem we have, where as Smith isn’t as much. Maxwell to captain.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
Warner will walk back into the team. Warner will be indomitable. He has supreme self-confidence.
Ram C. Khanal
Roar Rookie
My world cup squad looks like this Finch (C)/Warner Khawaja Smith Handscomb (wk) Maxwell (C) Stoinis Finch/Carey (wk) – Finch before Maxwell if he plays instead of Carey Starc Cummins J Richardson Zampa Extras Lyon Carey/Finch/Warner Hazlewood Head
Ram C. Khanal
Roar Rookie
Smith and Warner are proven performers, they were the reasons behind Australia’s last successful world cup campaign. While it remains to be seen whether they return back the same players they were, I am not entirely convinced Australia has dramatically improved to ignore the players of their calibre. What changed between Australia’s poor performance in the past and this series is the selection. This series shows that Australia should select proper batsman for top and middle order (Khawaja, Handscomb) and proper bowlers like Cummins, Richardson, Lyon, Zampa instead of bits and pieces players like Short, Lynn, MMarsh etc. This series is as much a reflection of India’s poor performance as it is for Australia’s dominance. Having proper batsmen pays dividends and Australia should welcome Smith and Warner into the team if they can prove their fitness and form through IPL. In my opinion, Handscomb should keep, opening the space for Smith, and if Finch continues his poor run of form, then Warner should take his spot and give the captaincy to Glenn Maxwell.
Beni Iniesta
Guest
To be fair Australia's ODI team did not have many 'bad days' in the 2003 & 2007 World Cups - so it's not like any team can have a 'bad day'. Simply not true. Can you name the 'bad days' for the Australian team in the 2003 & 2007 World Cups? Thanks.
Dwanye
Roar Rookie
‘Top five’, sorry
Dwanye
Roar Rookie
Smith wasn’t too five in odi? He was ok for us, but he has had 12 months out.
Sak
Roar Rookie
Brother just dont get carried out with the success in one series And our middle order is very fragile even in this series we witnessed many collapses in middle Except khwaja and handscomb no one seems batting comfortably Steve smith is very dependable batsman he may not have brute force bt he can anchor the inning on one end Second thing wc is in england we can face swinging conditions there tell me any other batsman except khwaja in current aussies lineup that can bat well against those swinging balls u need a technically gifted batters like steve smith and finch is turning into walking wicket these days just bowl a good inswinger u will get his wicket so for me warner in for finch and smith for turner Appoint glenn maxwell as captain
Kopa Shamsu
Guest
I wouldn't say unreliable. But consistent pattern of failures from some players like S Marsh/ finch. I think Warner, khawaja , Smith, Maxwell, Handscomb, Stoinis, Turner, , Cummins, Starc , Dorff, Zampa will be my first choice. One thing I agree with author is that , it would be seriously unfair to drop any of guys in this team who has delivered just because banned duo "would be first choice " unless duo show they are same player where they left off. In that case, I guess most 2 vulnerable to cope the axe will be S Marsh & Finch unless these 2 delivers something substantial & CONSISTENT ( Not 1 match wonder) in next series. Interesting time ahead.
Lars
Guest
Haha, no we can’t. Smith and warner are our only 2 absolutely world class batsmen. (although I’d thrown in Maxwell in ODI’s) They were ranked top 5 in the world for crying out loud. Smith was hailed as our best since bradman. They haven’t forgotten how to play cricket, class is permanent (sporting class that is, we all know Warner is a peanut). Throw them back in and they’ll perform. Our current batting lineup is still unreliable. Marsh, Khawaja, Finch, Handscomb plus some allrounders - Crikey. Not sure how warmer and Smith couldn’t replace 2 of those.