Evidently, Australia hasn’t been the team of the 2019 Cricket World Cup.
The merry with which Australia arrived at the competition may not have been wholly shrugged off, but the side remains far from invincible.
The defending champions have managed some stunning comebacks to register three wins from four, but there remains a cloud of uncertainty over their best playing XI.
On the other hand, Bangladesh have been a mighty force to be reckoned with, pummelling sides like South Africa and the Windies.
Soumya Sarkar and experienced campaigner Tamim Iqbal have been getting their side off to blazing starts. The former has enjoyed being the aggressor, but is yet to translate that into a significant knock. The duo will be up against the new-ball bowling pair of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, with the over-reliance upon those two proving precarious.
Shakib Al-Hasan is the biggest hurdle in Australia’s way. The all-rounder’s promotion to the No.3 spot has him atop the table for most runs, amassing a staggering 384 in just four games at a ridiculous average of 128. To stall the left-hander’s red-hot form, the Aussies need keep things tight and not let Shakib settle.
And while the veteran is letting his bat do the talking, count him out with the ball at your peril, especially since the Aussie batsmen are prone to struggle against left-arm spinners.
Bangladesh’s batting depth extends to No.10, with captain Mashrafe Mortaza as capable as any top-order batsmen of contributing precious runs. Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, and Mahumudullah are also adept batsmen.
While Australia’s four-pronged pace attack was instrumental in winning their fifth World Cup, oppositions have negated them tactfully. It is a case of worry when Cummins and Starc have accounted for 24 wickets collectively, while Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Kane Richardson have taken a collective six.
Nathan Coulter-Nile bowls for Australia. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
The thinktank may need to consider giving off-spinner Nathan Lyon his maiden World Cup cap or throwing wrist-spinner Adam Zampa back into the mix.
Their positive signs include Aaron Finch extending his purple patch by scoring 153 against the Sri Lankans, while Glenn Maxwell’s potential to turn a game on its head remains unquestionable.
Finally Starc and Cummins’ ominous form is undeniably the competitive edge.
In short, the Australians could still brush Bangladesh aside.
However, unlike previous editions, it will take a herculean effort to upstage the Tigers.
As the knockout stages draw close, the five-time champions need to find lightning-fast fixes for their lower-order batting and bowling departments.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
time to see how the predictions turn out!
Neel
Roar Guru
I reckon Australia will win but the Bangladeshis are more than capable of pulling off a major upset.
Arnab Bhattacharya
Roar Guru
We've improved so much against the short ball thanks to this current coaching staff. Head coach Steve Rhodes and batting coach Neil McKenzie have worked so hard to ensure teams wouldn't be trying to bounce us and we'd fall for their trap.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
Hi Smudge. Apologies, I've only just come across your article. I've dropped a few comments over on Ronan's article of today, for what they're worth. And I'm probably sounding repetitive and obsessive, but I think this match poses more of a danger to AUS's WC prospects than is being appreciated. 1) Yes, it is an absolute danger match. AUS cannot treat BAN with disrespect by thinking of team selection beyond this game, because to do so may result in such forward-thing being irrelevant (i.e. miss out on SFs). 2) Tigers combination of backfoot play/late hands/wrist-play and power, gives them potential to score heavily against AUS pacers with low risk, unless our pacers hit the appropriate length -and line - and do so consistently. When not powering over the ropes, the Tigers turn the ball square or or back of square and almost always immediately down, not in the air. Everything we have seen from our fast bowling attach outside of Cummins/Starc leads me to believe we can't achieve the consistency we need to hold line (back of square scoring), or length (over the ropes). 3) For this reason I'd be getting 30 overs out of Zampa/Lyon/Maxwell. As I've posted elsewhere, it sounds counter-intuitive against a subcontinent team, but I think keeping it tight is a better option than pace against power hitters faced with small boundaries (not to say they won't pick off singles at will, but there we need to clever and tight with field placement). 4) We need to hold back Starc from opening and bring him in when Shakib comes to the crease. Starc is our best option to blunt Shakib. 5) I'd therefore being playing both Zampa and Lyon, to reduce our pace exposure. So this would mean up to 30 overs from spin (Zampa/Lyon/Maxwell) 6) I'd open with Lyon/Cummins - untried in the comp thus far and therefore potentially risky, but Lyon can hold down an end in the powerplay and allow Starc to use the slightly older ball against Shakib 7) I'd be using the combo of Lyon/Cummins/Starc at the start and the end of the innings and using combo of Zampa/Stoinis/Maxwell in the middle overs (though this poses some risk asTigers could score at a fast clip) 8) I'm less concerned about batting for this game (although it is a concern for me more generally in the comp). Only one of UK/S Marsh, but I think we can post/chase a decent size total. 9) If AUS win the toss, I'd be chasing because in this game at least, I think batting is our strength and we have the line-up to get the runs at a pace of our choosing.
Graham
Guest
I'd love to see lyon and Zampa Zampa's average after a Cummins/lyon over drops to 20. His average after anyone else lately is 46
Paul
Roar Guru
Clearly a "must win" game for Australia. The Tigers were beaten pretty easily by England early in the tournament but put the frightners up the Kiwis. Clearly a side improving as they get more experience in the conditions and one we need to treat as a potential finalist. In other words, play our best team and play our best cricket.