If there’s anything Australia’s World Cup games have shown us, it’s our top order can sometimes be one-paced. It relies so heavily on David Warner to score big and score quickly.
Aaron Finch has been ticking along at a run a ball, but Warner is the key to getting Australia off to flyers and chasing down mammoth totals. The last two games have brutally exposed this – when batting slowly he made a decent score, yet we ultimately fell 36 runs short of chasing 353 against India.
But when scoring quickly, he ensured Australia reached the 300 mark to fend off Pakistan. With Smith and Usman Khawaja both playing more conservative roles, including anchoring the innings and turning the strike over, it means either Warner or Finch have to get a move on. So far, it’s only been Warner capable of doing this.
But is this going to happen consistently? Nothing against Warner, but you can’t bank on him to always score incredibly quickly. Sometimes the opening bowlers are just too good.
Glenn Maxwell has been trialled at number four and five depending on circumstances, and has proven he is nothing but a cameo player currently. Last World Cup he tore the heart out of teams with meaningful whirlwind knocks in the last 15 overs but, so far in this tournament, he is only seemingly good for 30 balls at most before throwing his wicket away.
One player who has contributed aggressively and constantly, however, is Alex Carey.
The gun keeper and batsman has experience batting higher up – his BBL contributions for the Adelaide Strikers are blistering and consistent. He knows how to strike quickly. His knock of 55 not out off 35 balls against India showed he can fire against the world’s best. But his gritty 30 against Pakistan showed his talents are wasted when having to bat with the tail.
He is still capable of doing this, but it limits his freedom to do what he does best, which is to come out and strike the ball at a fearsome rate.
There are a lot of parallels between him and South Africa’s Quinton de Kock. Both are fine keepers, and have experience opening the batting in white ball cricket. Both have luscious drives and can play shots in a 360-degree arc around the ground. They mix power with touch, finesse with brute force. De Kock may be more unconventional, but both have similar impacts when they make runs, which is often.
For future games, Australia should consider changing their batting order. Warner and Finch are slowly gelling again and simply must stay as an opening partnership.
Steve Smith has proven he is a superb first drop, and should take the responsibility of this position in the way Virat Kohli and Joe Root do for their countries.
After that, it may be worth putting Carey at four depending on the situation. If we are in positions like we have been against India and Pakistan, where the run rate needs to increase or be maintained, let him go in and play himself in before unleashing his withering strokes.
Khawaja can bat at five, as he is good enough to work with the tail and it also allows him to play himself in. Khawaja should only bat at four if we are flying, and we can afford to give him five overs to play himself in before unleashing.
This means Maxwell can slide down to six and take some responsibility off his shoulders. It may be the change Australia needs to get the best out of their middle order.
See how MS Dhoni and other keepers in other teams bat higher to great effect. Maybe it’s time we have faith in Carey and elevate him to number four or five, working with Khawaja depending on the situation.
He’s definitely too talented to be wasted down at six or seven when he could make the defining impact earlier in the game.
Spanner
Roar Rookie
Ahh - Kim Hughes - what beautiful memories - bless you Pete !
Peter Warrington
Guest
amongst many things, SMarsh is a massive timer and striker of the ball one of his pull shots against SA in Hobart was as clean a strike as anything Kim Hughes ever hit talk him up, not down. it worked for Richmond....
Paul
Roar Guru
I can only see Carey batting at 6 if Australia plays 5 bowlers, Neel. Otherwise, leave him where he's of best value to the team.
JamesH
Roar Guru
To be honest, I think the top 6 you listed would be stronger if you straight up reversed it. Carey opened in several ODIs and T20s in the last 12 months with absolutely no success. His best spot is still probably 7 but he should be bumped ahead of Maxwell (and Mitch Marsh) if we are in early trouble. Sending Maxwell in at 3/36 against the Windies was lunacy. I'd be okay with giving Carey a crack at 5 but no higher. Khawaja 100% grabbed his opportunity as an opener this year. He averaged about 50 in that position over the series against India and Pakistan. He has been mediocre everywhere else because he struggles to turn the strike over early in his innings if there is no pace on the ball. He should still be opening now. If you want to protect Warner or Finch then one of them should open with Khawaja. The other should bat at 3 or 4. Maxwell needs to stay at 6 and if Shaun Marsh plays he can't bat lower than 5. He's not a powerful enough hitter to be coming in at or near the death.
Tonka Goldman
Roar Rookie
Carey must open. Warner is too valuable a player to be chancing his arm at the top. Give it to someone who we can afford to lose. Our team is in a mess and they are scared of playing two left arm pacemen or two spinners. Now they have 2 Marshes for God sake! Khawaja had one year to prove himself as an opener and he didn't grab the opportunity... If Wahab Riaz can nearly win a match against us with the bat then what is Jos Butler, Kohli & co. going to do?! We are in all sorts of strife right now. Finch needs to do the right thing and drop down the order vs Sri Lanka. Warner, Carey, Maxwell, Smith, Finch, S Marsh, just looks better on paper to me.
bowledover
Roar Rookie
At the cost of which other batsman? Khawaja at 5? Yeah, not sure i buy the argument.
Neel
Roar Guru
I agree with Paul. Keep him at 7. If it gets a desperate then maybe put him at 6, otherwise keep him at 7. He even mentioned being happy at 7 because he felt secure in an interview before the World Cup started.
AREH
Roar Guru
I think going forward it’ll depend on the makeup of the XI. Initially felt he was suited best to 4-5 when tried there last season, as a middle-order glue type who could turn the strike over with time to build an innings. However, the recent growth in his attacking game at 7 has been refreshing, striking predominantly >100 now, having played some invaluable hands. He may be far better equipped for the role than many of us initially thought.
Paul
Roar Guru
Sean, I think in this format of cricket, apart from the openers, any player should be able to bat anywhere in the order if their skipper things that's best for the team. That said, I think it would be a mistake to move Carey from his current position for a number of reasons; Carey first of all is not a Quentin de Kock. He's only made two scores over 50 in 20 ODI innings and seems to be very good at making middling scores, without going on with it. You might argue he lacks chances batting at 7 but in a series where he's only batted 3 times, he had a chance against the Windies and could only make 45. The higher up the order, the more responsibility to make big scores and make them quickly. He's not a good enough bat to make big scores, like Buttler, de Kock or Baorstow, so why put pressure on him, by moving him from a sport that's comfortable. Is your suggestion simply trying to paper over cracks in our batting order? All of the guys above him are perfectly capable of going at a run a ball at least, though some take longer to get started. Surely this means Langer and Finch need to get in their ears, tell them to pull their fingers out and become more urgent at the crease? Carey has become a very valuable member of the team for all the reasons you've pointed out. He's having a few issues with his glovework which he must be worried about and I can't see moving him up the order helping to relieve the pressure on him. Leave him at 7 because, when you're on a good thing.....stick to it.