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Australia keep winning as the selectors keep ignoring Shane Warne

30th June, 2019
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Roar Guru
30th June, 2019
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After following up a strong win over host England with a crushing win over trans-Tasman rival New Zealand, Aaron Finch’s side head towards the semi-finals in ominous form.

Perhaps the two most promising developments in recent weeks have been the selectors finding the Australians’ most balanced bowling attack, while also continuing to ignore ongoing selection advice from Shane Warne.

Prior to Saturday’s game against New Zealand, Warne was again calling for the frequently resurrected Shaun Marsh to be recalled to the side at the expense of current No.3 Usman Khawaja.

While Khawaja has not been setting the World Cup alight, he demonstrated his class against New Zealand, top scoring with 88 and rescuing the Australians from a precarious position at 5/92 after another disappointing showing from Glenn Maxwell.

It is difficult to imagine Shaun Marsh digging in under strong pressure from the Kiwi attack, particularly the express pace of Lockie Ferguson.

Thankfully, Trevor Hohns, Greg Chappell and Justin Langer do not appear as open to suggestions from Warne as previous selection regimes, leaving several of the leggie’s preferred batsmen out of the squad, including D’Arcy Short and Chris Lynn.

In turn, Hohns, Chappell and Langer also wisely steered away from Warne’s suggestion of installing Finch as Test skipper, instead sticking with the steady hand of Tim Paine to guide the Aussies back from their catastrophic fall in South Africa. One can only hope this encouraging trend continues into the Australian summer and beyond, with Warne’s recommendations generally well off the mark of what is best for the side.

Shane Warne celebrates with Steve and Mark Waugh

The 1999 World Cup winner has been full of advice for the 2019 selectors. (Photo by Neal Simpson/EMPICS via Getty Images)

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Bowling wise, it was another of Warne’s foes, Mitchell Starc, who ripped through New Zealand’s batting order. Following Jason Behrendorff’s five-for against England, Starc claimed 5/26 from 9.4 overs to dismantle the Kiwis for a measly 157, with Behrendorff chiming in with another two wickets in another economical display.

Nathan Lyon again showed his value in being able to both contain and attack batsmen, finishing with 1/36 from his ten-over spell, ably backed by a resurgent Steven Smith, who chimed in with 1/6 from his two overs.

With Pat Cummins again making strong contributions with bat and ball, the Australian line-up is suddenly firing on most cylinders, and they head to the pointy end of the tournament as India’s greatest challenger for the Cup.

After starting the tournament with a number of question marks over their line-up, mostly due to the return of Steve Smith and David Warner, Langer’s group appear to be gelling across the board. Only all-rounders Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis continue to provide inconsistent contributions with bat and ball. Captain Finch will need more from those two if Australia are to topple a rampant Indian side.

Finally, the form of Alex Carey continues to be encouraging. Entering the tournament, Australia missed a trick in leaving Peter Handscomb out of the squad, particularly as a back-up keeper.

But Carey’s solid glove work has been a real asset, while his level head with the bat saw Australia out of the trouble against New Zealand, as the keeper attacked the Kiwi bowlers and turned the innings in Australia’s favour.

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With a handful of games remaining before the semi-finals, Finch and Langer will be thrilled with the fight the Aussies have shown in recent weeks. While the challenge of India may prove too great, Australia’s performances through the tournament have exceeded expectations, and bode well for the summer of cricket that lies ahead.

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