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So it’s that time again – the one time every four years that we actually care and pay attention to one-day internationals, the World Cup is almost upon us.
Given the current tug of war between Twenty20 franchise money and the grand old traditional of Test cricket dominates most of the cricketing landscape, you could be forgiven for forgetting that this tournament is even happening.
And yet it’s a historic trophy that every country wants to win and given Australia’s glittered history – one we always believe we can win.
With this in mind, attention turns to the squad and what will be Australia’s best XI. Rather than looking at who isn’t there – Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Ellis and perhaps even Aaron Hardie can consider themselves a bit stiff to miss out – let’s look at who is and what the final make-up of Australia’s team may look like.
Starting from the top, it’s pretty clear the opening pair will be Travis Head and David Warner.
David Warner celebrates his century. (Photo by Charle Lombard/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
Head is one of the world’s most in-form batters and his role will be to go super hard from the start and while Warner’s best days are behind him and it would be be better for a younger player take his position, his record in ODIs is very strong and he is just coming off another ton in South Africa.
Perhaps this World Cup would be the perfect way for Warner to bow out from international cricket, rather than dragging it out over a home summer and then holding on in T20s for that World Cup next year.
Number 3 has to be Mitchell Marsh, the most destructive batter in world cricket right now. He’s shown great ability as an opener in this format and can quite easily come in early if a wicket falls and can also do a job later and continue the momentum if the openers get off to a flyer. He’s also a brilliant leader and is doing his captaincy credentials a world of good over in South Africa at the moment.
The accumulator, or anchor role will be filled by Steve Smith. Labuschagne has been brilliant in South Africa, but given the power that teams like England and India possess at this tournament, Australia can’t justify playing Smith and Marnus in the same XI. When it comes down to it, provided Smith is fit, he is still the obvious choice but he may move to being a Test specialist after this tournament in a move to prolong his career.
It’s the all-rounders where selections get interesting. Apart from Marsh, who is a lock, Australia have three other batting all-rounders in the squad in Cameron Green, Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell. There is only room for two of them. Green is probably the front-runner here, given his recent good form in India, and his ability to be the third/fourth seamer probably gets him the nod. He would bat at five as he can play both as an accumulator and as a finisher.
It then is a direct choice between Stoinis and Maxwell and this is a tough one. Stoinis’ form with the bat in limited overs cricket leaves a lot to be desired, he hasn’t hit many great heights but does have an extreme power game as a finisher, whilst Maxwell has struggled with injury in recent times and will come into the tournament significantly underdone.
A different option like Hardie or Ashton Turner should have been given a go here as both have significantly better recent domestic records, but the selectors have shown faith. They’ll lean towards Maxwell given he has more upside with the bat and given we already have two seam bowling all-rounders in the top six he offers the side a better balance.
Here’s the first big controversial opinion however – Josh Inglis should play over Alex Carey as the preferred wicketkeeper.
This mostly comes down to the extra firepower and gears Inglis has as a batter. Both are very tidy keepers so you aren’t losing much either way, but we’ve seen in recent BBLs and domestic one-day tournaments that Inglis can flick through the gears and has been a pivotal part of Perth’s and WA’s success in recent seasons. It’s a big call to go with the less experienced option but he could come in at six ahead of Stoinis/Maxwell.
So now to the bowlers: Australia must play two spinners in India and given the plethora of seam bowling all-rounders in the top seven, Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar should play every game if they are fit.
Agar is much maligned but this isn’t red-ball cricket, he is a very wily left arm spinner that ties up an end and allows Zampa to be more attacking. He’s also a brilliant option to bat at number eight and lengthens the batting order more than any other bowler would.
So this leaves two frontline seamers, and this is where the controversy really hits. Josh Hazlewood is Australia’s best white-ball bowler. He is the most economical of the four quicks chosen in the squad and he has the most experience bowling in Indian conditions in recent years given his IPL commitments have been heavier than Mitchell Starc or Pat Cummins. He should be an absolute lock.
So it’s a shoot-out between the captain, Cummins, and Starc, who should get the nod. He is likely to be more expensive but he is a wicket taker, will get the ball to reverse and his record in World Cups is phenomenal, leading the way in 2019 and second only to New Zealand’s Trent Boult, another left-armer, in 2015.
(AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
This means that the captain misses out, but honestly, he is not in our strongest XI given the conditions and the make-up of this squad. He is probably the world’s premier red-ball bowler but his record in recent years in the shorter formats of the game leave a lot to be desired.
His leadership credentials in this format of the game are virtually non-existent. He captained one game for his state and a handful of ODIs post Aaron Finch retiring, and even then pulled out of one of those and allowed Hazlewood to lead.
Cummins isn’t the lock CA thinks he should be in this format – and in Mitch Marsh, CA has uncovered a leader that is probably better suited to this format of the game, and would fill the role with aplomb if given the chance in India.
So the XI to play India in Chennai for the blockbuster opening game should be:
1. Travis Head
2. Dave Warner
3. Mitch Marsh (c)
4. Steve Smith
5. Cam Green
6. Josh Inglis (wk)
7. Glenn Maxwell
8. Ashton Agar
9. Mitchell Starc
10. Adam Zampa
11. Josh Hazlewood
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