Starc on track to be greatest ODI bowler of all time but Aussies need to sort out batting before World Cup

With the 2023 ODI World Cup taking place in India in October, the recent ODI series held in the same conditions has been a good litmus test to see how the Aussies stand in the subcontinent.

After beating India 2-1, the Australian think tank will be pleased but this team still needs work if it is to add to Australia’s World Cup collection.

Marsh-Head opening duo here to stay

Promoting Mitch Marsh to open the batting with Travis Head has been a revelation. It has given Australia a dynamic combination that has put up closer to T20 numbers in the powerplay.

Australia pose with the series trophy after winning 2-1 in Chennai. (Photo by Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)

In the first two ODI games, Head and Marsh had an opening stand of 68 off of 10.5 overs and also chased down India’s meagre target of 116 in brutal fashion in 11 overs with 239 balls to spare. Marsh has been the chief destroyer as the top run-getter for the three contests with 194 runs at an average of 97.00 and a strike rate of 131.08 to earn player-of-the-series honours.

Head scored the third-most runs notching up 89 at a strike rate of 125.35. The next step for Marsh will be to balance his aggression and capitalise on the starts by posting tons and ensuring wickets are in hand for Australia to get out of the middle overs and start all-out attacking from the 35-40 over mark or earlier.

For now, Australia will be chuffed to have uncovered an opening pair that has been able to attack from ball one and get the team off to a flyer.

Middle order must do better

While the Aussie openers have stamped their authority in the India series, the same can not be said for the rest of the batters.

In the first ODI, Australia went from 3-129 after 19.4 overs to 188 all-out.

In the third ODI, Australia had posted 68 after 10.4 overs before their first wicket fell before subsequently collapsing to 5/138 after 28.1 overs.

Admittedly, both sides found it tough going after their opening partnership, but Australia’s stabilisers will need to do better and the finishers have to be more accountable by looking to build partnerships rather than trying to post mammoth scores on pitches that are tougher to bat on once the ball gets softer.

Australia is in danger of over-relying on its openers to put up necessary totals, which could come back to haunt them in the World Cup as it has for India in past editions who were reliant on their top three of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, and Virat Kohli and were sent packing in multiple knockouts when those three faltered.

What does Warner switch mean for Marnus and Marcus?

With Mitch Marsh now opening the batting and excelling, David Warner was placed at No.4 in the third ODI after he was declared fit. Warner at 4 with Labuschagne at 5 likely indicates that the veteran left-hander will be the preferred option to bat behind Steve Smith. This would mean Labuschagne, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, and Cameron Green would likely be competing for two spots alongside wicket-keeper Alex Carey.

Maxwell and Green have better track records than Labuschagne and Stoinis and should be the preferred options in the middle order. The world’s top-ranked Test batter, Labuschagne, had an average of 21.50 and a strike rate of 64.17, while his career ODI average stands at 31.37 with a strike rate of 83.20. He has neither been able to provide stability in the middle overs nor score at a decent clip in his ODI career.

While Stoinis helped contribute to posting a winning score in the third ODI batting in the lower order, his resume remains unconvincing. Since April 2019, Stoinis has a batting average of 16.5 in 27 matches and has not scored a single 50. With limited opportunities left before the World Cup, it will likely be Labuschagne and Stoinis who need to lift in order to gain a spot in the XI for the World Cup.

Starc making serious case to be crowned GOAT bowler for ODIs

Mitchell Starc has had a phenomenal career as an ODI bowler and Mr World Cup (bowling average of 14.81 in ODI World Cups) looks prime to dominate on the biggest stage once again.

In the absence of Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, he stood up to be the leading wicket-taker for the series.

Mitchell Starc of Australia celebrates the wicket of Suryakumar Yadav of India. (Photo by Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)

He bagged eight wickets at an average of 21.12. With his 5/53 in the second ODI, Starc became level with Brett Lee and Shahid Afridi for equal third for five-wicket hauls in ODI history.

Only Waqar Younis with 13 and Muttiah Muralitharan’s 10 five-wicket hauls are ahead of Starc. Everyone equal to or ahead of Starc has played at least twice as many matches.

Of every bowler that has 100 ODI wickets or more, Starc has the highest wickets per match average at 1.99. The three highest ODI wicket-takers, Muralitharan, Akram, and Waqar Younis average 1.52, 1.41, and 1.58 respectively. While Starc will be unable to match the numbers of the highest wicket-takers due to fewer ODIs being played nowadays, these stats do show that Starc is having an all-time great ODI career.

Pace depth looks potent

The unfortunate absences of Hazlewood and Cummins allowed Australia to test out their bowling bench strength and see how their depth stacks up halfway across the world.

Sean Abbott and Nathan Ellis proved themselves in Indian conditions. The pair were great accompaniments to the brilliant Starc. In his sole outing, Ellis took 2/13 in 5 overs while Starc undertook his demolition of India in the second ODI. Abbott was the preferred backup pacer having played all 3 matches and taking 4 wickets at a bowling average of 26.00, while importantly providing tight bowling to have an economy rate of 4.16.

Australia can rest assured that if anything were to happen to their frontline pacers then they have the necessary depth to cover for it.