Australia are World Cup champions for a sixth time – and their path to glory in 2023 has been one of the most remarkable ever.
Down for the count in unfamiliar condition after beginning the tournament with consecutive losses, the Aussies reeled off nine straight wins to cruise into the semi-finals, then outlast South Africa in a tense knockout game, before dismantling hosts India for a famous six-wicket win to claim the title once more.
Along the way, David Warner sealed his ODI legacy with another magnificent campaign, Travis Head entrenched himself as a star of the game, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins started slow but came to the party when it was needed most, and Adam Zampa casually picked up 23 wickets in a stunning campaign.
Oh, and that Glenn Maxwell chap did a few nice things as well, or so we’re told.
Here are The Roar’s Australian player ratings for the 2023 World Cup.
David Warner – 8.5
11 games, 535 runs @ 48.63, SR 108.29, 2 100s, 2 50s, HS 163
If it wasn’t official before, it is now: David Warner is one of Australian cricket’s all-time greats.
Another spectacular World Cup from the polarising veteran, with his centuries against Pakistan and the Netherlands helping turn around the team’s shaky start to the tournament. His fielding, too, was never short of impeccable, and it was his great catch of Sri Lankan opener Pathum Nissanka when they were 0/125 and cruising that proved the turning point of Australia’s campaign.
Finished off with a disappointing pair of finals with the bat, but it’s fair to say Australia wouldn’t have made it that far without him.
Travis Head – 9
6 games, 329 runs @ 54.83, SR 127.51, 2 100s, 1 50, HS 137
It was a gutsy move by Australia to keep Head in the World Cup squad despite his fractured hand ruling him out of their first five matches; but even before his heroics in the final, the swashbuckling opener had well and truly repaid the faith.
Returning with a bang with a 59-ball century – and Player of the Match honours – in a thrilling win over New Zealand, Head saved his best for when it mattered most, with best-afield performances in both the semi-final and, of course, the decider, which included one of the greatest catches in World Cup history to see the back of Rohit Sharma in addition to his Herculean batting.
Head’s spectacular 137 to rescue the run chase against India would have to be in the top five Australian white-ball knocks ever… even if it wasn’t quite his team’s best of this tournament.
Mitchell Marsh – 7
10 games, 441 runs @ 49, SR 107.56, 2 100s, 1 50, HS 177*
A boom or bust tournament for the belligerent Western Australian, but when Marsh was on, he was ON.
Together with Warner, his 121 and 259-run opening stand against Pakistan announced Australia’s arrival as a World Cup force again; later on, his unbeaten 177 against Bangladesh made a difficult run chase look ridiculously easy.
Seldom required with the ball and picking up his only two wickets against the Netherlands, Marsh’s dropped catch to spare Virat Kohli in Australia’s first match of the tournament, plus his scratchy duck in the semi-final, were about the only real negatives out of an excellent campaign for surely the team’s next captain.
Steve Smith – 3.5
10 games, 302 runs @ 33.55, SR 80.96, 0 100s, 2 50s, HS 71
Just like in the Ashes, that Australia were able to succeed despite patchy contributions from their champion batter was an excellent sign of the team’s depth and newfound spread of stars.
Smith is not the destroyer of worlds he was at his prime, and while his spot in the team was never truly in jeopardy, half-centuries in big wins over the Netherlands and Bangladesh were his only major scores. Indeed, his fighting 46 against India in Australia’s opening-game loss was probably his best performance.
At 34, this is almost certainly Smith’s last World Cup – but whenever he wraps up his white-ball career, he’ll bow out as a two-time ODI champion, and one of the greats.
Marnus Labuschagne – 6
11 games, 362 runs @ 40.22, SR 70.70, 0 100s, 3 50s, HS 71
Just like his arrival onto the scene in the 2019 Ashes, Labuschagne has proved himself as a man who refuses to let go of any opportunity that presented itself in recent months.
Now on a 19-game consecutive ODI streak since being left out of Australia’s preliminary World Cup squad back in September, the Queenslander’s sluggish strike rate belies his important steadying role in the team’s middle order, particularly with Smith a diminished force.
A 71 against England proved the cornerstone to building a winning total on a tricky pitch, while he played Damien Martyn to Head’s Ricky Ponting in the final, his patient unbeaten 58 settling nerves after wickets fell freely at the start.
Sublime as always in the field, particularly in the dying stages of a tense win over New Zealand, he’s now all but earmarked as Smith’s long-term replacement as the ODI team’s middle-order anchor.
Glenn Maxwell – 9.5
9 games, 400 runs @ 66.67, SR 150.37, 2 100s, 0 50s, HS 201*, 6 wickets @ 55, SR 68.5, economy 4.81, BB 2/34
History will remember Maxwell’s record-fastest World Cup century against the Netherlands, and of course his outrageous, cramp-defying double-century in the heist of a lifetime against Afghanistan, as two of the greatest performances in the prestige tournament’s history.
But the all-rounder’s most consistent influence in India was with the ball; stepping up as the fifth bowler due to Ashton Agar’s injury, his accurate off-spin proved perilously difficult to get away in the middle overs, finishing the World Cup with an economy of well below five runs an over – and the prized wicket of Rohit Sharma in the final.
Still… it’s THAT 201 not out against Afghanistan, single-handedly rescuing Australia from oblivion in one of cricket’s most extraordinary ever innings, that cemented his legacy as a limited-overs champion.
Glenn Maxwell celebrates the greatest one-day innings of all time. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
Josh Inglis (wk) – 3.5
10 games, 159 runs @ 19.87, SR 94.64, 0 100s, 1 50, HS 58, 14 catches, 2 stumpings
Brought into the team after one match after Alex Carey was shockingly axed, it would be difficult to claim Inglis’ inclusion was the catalyst of Australia’s turnaround this tournament.
Still, the Western Australian had his moments, with a half-century against Sri Lanka seeing the Aussies home after a shaky start, while his 28 in the semi-final against South Africa was far more significant than it appears given the match situation and the hazardous conditions at hand.
Pouched a World Cup final record five catches in the decider, and his glovework certainly improved the longer the tournament went on – but expect Inglis to face stiff competition from Carey for his spot in the coming months and years.
Mitchell Starc – 5.5
10 games, 87 runs @ 12.42, 16 wickets @ 33, SR 32.62, economy 6.06, BB 3/34
Prior to the knockout stages, the left-armer was having an utterly miserable World Cup.
Far from the monolith he was at the 2015 and 2019 tournaments, Starc struggled to find swing, missed his yorkers at the death, and was plundered for runs by all and sundry while taking precious few wickets, the low point his 0/89 off nine horrible overs against New Zealand that very nearly allowed the Black Caps to chase down Australia’s 388.
In the semi-final and final, though, he showed that form is temporary and class is permanent, first wrecking South Africa’s top order with 3/34 and seeing the team home with an unbeaten 16 at the pointy end of the chase, then taking three more wickets in the final and ensuring India couldn’t surge in the last ten overs.
Pat Cummins – 6.5
11 games, 128 runs @ 32, 15 wickets @ 34.33, SR 35.8, economy 5.75, BB 3/51
His captaincy polarised, his bowling was mediocre, and he endured criticism for every accused misstep throughout the campaign: and yet Pat Cummins went and won the World Cup anyway.
In unhelpful conditions for him, the captain wasn’t the wicket-taking menace he is in Tests, but never stopped hitting the pitch hard and asking questions of the batters. He was rewarded for his persistence with a magnificent performance at the time of greatest need, his 2/34 in the final – and wicket of Virat Kohli – including not a single boundary as he tightened the screws on India.
His brave call to bowl first after winning the toss in Ahmedabad could easily have become his Nasser Hussain moment; instead, he looks an absolute genius, nicely putting all his critics back in their boxes.
Adam Zampa – 7.5
11 games, 48 runs @ 16, 23 wickets @ 22.39, SR 25.04, economy 5.36, BB 4/8
This was a strange tournament from Zampa: awful early, untouchable in the middle stages and then sloppy in the two knockouts, he finished the World Cup with the second-most wickets and a staggering seven more than any other spinner.
Taking four wickets in three consecutive games against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the Netherlands and rediscovering his mojo, the leg-spinner’s best performance by far came against England: smacking 29 crucial runs with the bat, suffocating the Poms with 3/21 from ten immaculate overs and taking a brilliant catch in the outfield, it was almost the perfect all-round game.
Australia picked only one specialist spinner for this tournament – thanks to Zampa, it turned out that was all they needed.
Josh Hazlewood – 6.5
11 games, 16 wickets @ 28.06, SR 34.93, economy 4.81, BB 3/38
The most economical, and frequently the most dangerous, of Australia’s quicks, Hazlewood’s rise in recent years into white-ball stardom has given the attack a crucial extra dimension.
With a happy knack of popping up to take a crucial wicket or two, the Test star’s economy rate was equal-best among Australians alongside Maxwell, and considering he regularly bowled with the new ball and PowerPlay fielding restrictions, that’s some effort.
Bowling eight overs straight in perfect conditions for him in the semi-final, his spell of 2/12 from eight overs, including the prized scalps of Proteas guns Quinton de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen, deserves to rank as among the finest by an Australian at a World Cup.
DID NOT PLAY WORLD CUP FINAL
Marcus Stoinis – 3
6 games, 87 runs @ 21.75, SR 112.98, 0 100s, 0 50s, HS 35, 4 wickets @ 35.75, SR 28.5, economy 7.52, BB 2/40
Maxwell’s incredible tournament with bat and ball lessened Australia’s reliance on Stoinis as an extra bowling option and late-innings hitter – but in truth, the all-rounder has looked a diminishing force for quite a while now.
Expensive with the ball and managing precious few runs with the bat save for a handy cameo against England, the 34-year old was overlooked for the steadier Labuschagne for the two knockout games, which proved a wise move.
Cameron Green’s rise, plus his own age, leaves his ODI future uncertain – but the Stoin has been a great contributor to Australian limited-overs cricket for the last decade.
Cameron Green – 3
3 games, 63 runs @ 21, SR 75.9, 0 100s, 0 50s, HS 47, 0 wickets, economy 5.5
By the time the next World Cup rolls around in 2027, Green may well be entrenched as Australia’s premier all-rounder in all formats and a superstar of the game – but for the moment, he has some questions to answer.
Too often becalmed and unable to rotate the strike with the bat, his classy 47 against England showed his quality – but his bowling was never going to be used much on Indian pitches unsuited to his style, limiting his ability to influence games.
It has been a 2023 of setbacks after losing his Test place to Mitchell Marsh, but the potential is still there in spades: more than anyone else in the Australian set-up, it is going to be a fascinating summer for Green as he vies to win back his spot.
Alex Carey – 0.5
1 game, 0 runs @ 0, 0 catches, 0 stumpings
A second-ball duck against India was all the evidence Australia needed to axe the long-term gloveman for the remainder of the World Cup – and while Josh Inglis didn’t set the world on fire, it would be hard to say Carey’s form heading into the tournament warranted further chances.
Having started the year brilliantly with the bat, his controversial stumping of Jonny Bairstow has seen his runs in all formats slow to a trickle – given the ODI keeping role is now Inglis’ to lose and facing other fierce competitors for his role in the Test team, Carey would love a big summer to re-establish himself as indispensable to the Australian cause.
Sean Abbott – 6.5
1 game, 2 wickets @ 30.5, SR 30, economy 6.1
For years the first-choice back-up to Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood, Abbott’s one game at the World Cup was impressive enough, bowling tightly at the death against Bangladesh and picking up two wickets for his troubles.
With the golden trio all the wrong side of 30 and likely to be slowly phased out of white-ball cricket in coming years, Abbott, at nearly 32, has an important role to play leading into the next World Cup in 2027, even if it’s far from a guarantee he will be part of that squad.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
I don't think we're Robinson Crusoe. Botham and Flintoff would've been more direct.
JamesH
Roar Guru
If it was something Joe Root said then no wonder I've already forgotten it
The Knightwatchmen who say Nii
Roar Rookie
Batting second there are ‘chases’ and ‘mop ups’. In order to ascertain which is which, a par total batting first needs to be established for the era of any particular player. In Dean Jones’s career, it was about 210, Mark Waugh’s about 230, Hayden 250, and Warner about 275. In determining Warner’s success or otherwise at ‘chasing’ we can only look at his scores when his team has successfully overhauled targets of 275 or higher. The 281 in Kiwi Land in 2016 is the only one of the one’s you mention that fits this criterion. Given Warner was 5th out for 98 with almost 100 still to get, and the opposition followed up with a 6th almost immediately after, it was then left to a bowler, Hastings, to score almost 50 in support of the remaining specialist batsman, Mitchell Marsh, who finished on 69. Granted, this is not a major felony on Warner’s part, but it does relegate his 98 to the ‘doing his bit’ category, rather than being accredited with the starring role – for the latter he would prolly have needed to hang around and score at least another 20 or so to get the team to slightly safer ground before giving it away. In the 74 and 122 (2019 WC v Saffies), Australia were never in the hunt on either occasion. In the first instance, the team was almost 60 behind where they needed to be when he was 4th out in the 32nd over, and a good 20 or so behind in the second case when he was 5th out in the 40th over, the team still needing 100. These kinds of scenarios are similar to doomed irretrievable 3rd and 4th innings lost causes in test cricket, and represent, in the words of Renato Carini, little other than “the final thrusts of a dying fish”. With the 127 in 2015, England scored a good 40 below par, and when George Bailey was 4th out, Australia were only 36 from victory with 80 balls still to go, a turn around in England’s favour at that point would have required a collapse as dismal as the West Indies in the 1996 WC semi-final. The inconsequential flurry of wickets late in the game when the affair was already well and truly settled make the final scorecard look far closer than it actually was. Mark Waugh scored 7 out of 18 ODI tons in successful chases of targets of par or higher, Bevan 3 from 6, Gilly 8 from 16, Ponting 8 from 29, Smith 4 from 12, and Greg Chappell, from an admittedly tiny sample size, 1 from 3. Other NON-prominent performers in legitimate chases for Australia are Jones, Hayden, and to a certain extent, Finch. Finally, when it comes to sudden death matches in world cups, a sample size of six (for Warner) is about as large as you’ll ever have to look at for any player, given that this stretches over three tournaments with not many teams reaching the playoffs three times in a row, and equally as few players taking part in more than three world cups full stop.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
It was immortals. Something Root said about being remembered for the ethereal nature of the haughty brilliance. Its a bugbear of mine when people say "ATM machine" or "VIN number"
JamesH
Roar Guru
Maybe the I stands for Index, and you're making the old 'ATM machine' mistake
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
And his work against SA's two spinners, when everyone else was troubled, was very impressive. He could obviously read everything.
The Bush
Roar Guru
Always risky getting into semantics, 'accomplished' v 'great', and I wouldn't have Warner as my greatest Aus opener; it'd be Waugh and Gilchrist, but I really think you focus to much on key things that are outside the players control sometimes. In chases, Warner has 5 centuries, averages 38.76 and strikes at 96.76 (almost identical strike rate to his batting first strike rate). Those are career statistics of many 'accomplished' openers alone, his overall stats are amazing, he averages 39 away and against does this at 96. Even a quick glance at some of his scores in games chasing shows that he did his part, even if the rest of the team couldn't; he top scored with 74 as we tried to chase down over three hundred against South Africa in only his second ever chase back in 2011. He scored 127 chasing a modest English total in 2015, but none of his team-mates scored more than 37 (and that was Smith, the only other batter to score more than 20), we lost seven wickets in that chase, so it must have been a toughish wicket. In 2016 he scored 98, top scored, in New Zealand as we chased down 281 in the 47th over for the loss of six wickets, so again that must have been a mostly 'par' score that he was key to us chasing down (struck at 124 too). His 122 against South Africa in the 2019 world cup whilst we tried to chase 325 (we scored 315, so very close) was excellent and only he and Carey kept us in it. No he doesn't have any memorable finals centuries like Smith or Head do, but that's just such a small sample size that I don't accept it as being a reason to discount him being a 'great'.
The Bush
Roar Guru
I'm no expert on keeping, but he certainly seemed to be as good as anyone else going around. As you say, Rahul is nothing special behind the stumps. I do feel that Carey seems more composed and fluid behind the stumps than Inglis, but then Inglis was basically thrown in the deep-end here, so to compare him to a guy with 100 international appearances under the belt is probably a bit rough. Personally, I think Inglis has earned the right to now try and nail down the ODI spot, especially as he does seem more aggressive with the bat and better suited to our needs in the lower-middle order.
The Bush
Roar Guru
We'll never know if Carey would have done better, but we do know one thing; they didn't stuff around with the batting order as much to try to accommodate Inglis. This is where my frustration with Carey was building from; they kept trying to slot him up the order, even though our lack of hitting down the order was the problem.
The Knightwatchmen who say Nii
Roar Rookie
No he's NOT. He looks a million dollars in massive totals batting first in what turn out to be runaway victories, but he has never been a big run scorer when successfully chasing above par targets. And in world cups, none of his big days out are in sudden death matches. In one day cricket he is genuinely accomplished, NOT 'great' - whether you like it or not.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
I think his keeping was outstanding but then, I think Carey's is too. When you compare them with Rahul, who was often very sloppy, or any of the others, the Aussie pair stand on top. Even De Kock, who seems to be beyond criticism, put down a few, especially to Maharaj.
TheCunningLinguistic
Roar Rookie
I agree in regard to Tests, he is hopeless away from home. But as a One Day batsman, he is a great, whether you think so or not.
The Knightwatchmen who say Nii
Roar Rookie
Warner is NOT a 'great' - not even close. None of his big world cup runs have been in sudden death matches, nor in successfully chasing down above par targets - in or out of world cups - and even when batting first in non-critical matches, Australia are rarely in any serious trouble when he scores big. In test matches a very large percentage of his big runs have come in soft situations, such as 3rd innings team already bossing the game with a big lead going in, just to name one example, and obviously he is rubbish overseas in test format in any case.
Baggygreen2.1
Roar Rookie
thead was a 10 maxi too marsh warner labuschagne zampa hazlewood starc all 9s realistically
Jez North
Roar Rookie
Would love to see Smith retire after the Pakistan series. His reflexes have slowed considerably since his Herculean return in 2019. Ponting hung on too long and all it did was dilute a wonderful test record.
Johnno
Roar Rookie
Yeah I think while nothing special he was passable. A bit better than Carey although only 1 game wasn’t really fair on Carey. It must have been a pretty close call who got the nod in the beginning. Anyway, we might have different opinions, but we really can’t say a lot against the selectors now.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
Warner definitely came back in from the cold in this comp. My biggest negative thought about our team was about him being more than just a passenger
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
Going the tonk can be so underappreciated. Afterall there's a bloke at the other end knowing that he can spice it up.
The Bush
Roar Guru
Smith should absolutely be tapped on the shoulder, thanked for his great service, and asked if he wants to just play on against the red ball only. I think the top four moving forward should be Head, Marsh, Labs, Green. At five and six I'm not so sure; Maxi is 35, can he play on? If not, we need to find some new hitting power at 5 and 6. Stoinis should be moved on, I wouldn't even thank him for his service... what service...
The Bush
Roar Guru
I thought that was tough too. Other than RSA and India's bowlers, most other bowlers took a pounding all world cup, so to average under 30, with an economy under 5, was outstanding. I'd have definitely put him more like 7.5. In contrast, I think that Starc was too high. He finished the tournament well, so by all means give him a pass mark, but a 5 at best. He was really quite useless across eight other games...