Can ODI world champions Australia overcome their recent struggles in Limited Overs cricket to claim their third Champions Trophy title?

By Muhammad Ansari (23rd May, 2017)

Australia’s relentless dominance in ODI cricket in recent years culminated in a fantastic World Cup triumph at home against arch-rivals New Zealand. A stellar campaign which saw them lose only one game against New Zealand, that too by a narrow margin.

The team’s aura of invincibility, however, was somewhat weakened in recent times as they suffered series whitewashes away to South Africa and New Zealand, although their touring sides were admittedly not at full-strength. At the end of the day, having lost their last two LOI series (ODI series during their tour of New Zealand and T20I series at home against Sri Lanka) along with losing the top spot in the ODI rankings to South Africa will have done their confidence no wonders.

Coming to the squad chosen for the Champions Trophy, there is undoubtedly a plethora of cricketers perfectly suited to the modern ODI game at coach Darren Lehmann’s disposal. Dashing opener David Warner seems to have finally cracked the code to ODI batting and realized his immense potential with a brilliant last couple of years that saw him churn out century after century at the top of the order.

Captain Steven Smith’s habit of taking the term “run machine” literally shows no signs of abating in Tests or ODIs, with the Australian top-order maestro comfortably averaging in the fifties over his last couple of years in the One-Day game. The two aforementioned key batsmen are surrounded by several high-quality options in the likes of Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Chris Lynn, all-rounders Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, John Hastings and Moises Henriques, and wicket-keeper-batsman Matthew Wade, all of whom lend further stability, dynamism and explosive power to a very well-rounded batting lineup.

The team’s all-round options are truly capable of delivering with both bat and ball. Glenn Maxwell has frequently backed up his ability to play outrageous knocks with the bat with some fine bowling spells that tend to slip under the radar. Henriques has often showed consistency, with the bat in particular, when batting at the top of the order for IPL’s Sunrisers Hyderabad, while he also provides a useful medium-fast bowling option. Moises would definitely be eager to prove himself in the shorter format, as he's only played eight ODIs so far, despite being around the Australian cricket scene for several years. Stoinis, meanwhile, has been fairly new to the Australian ODI setup but has already displayed serious potential with a breath-taking unbeaten 146 in a failed chase against New Zealand, an epic knock in which he brutally struck 11 sixes. His medium pace can also help to keep things tight and give tearaway pacers like Starc a rest. Hastings has also proven to be a very reliable all-rounder in his short but promising ODI career.

Australia’s bowling is arguably their strong suit. A formidable pace attack led by the ruthless express pace of Mitchell Starc and the unwavering accuracy of the towering Josh Hazlewood is backed up with some terrific bowling options in the shape of the tearaway pacers Pat Cummins and James Pattinson, along with Adam Zampa’s cunning leg-spin and some good support provided by the multi-skilled all-rounders.

The team’s fitness as a whole is exemplary and exhibits fantastic levels of professionalism. The likes of David Warner and Glenn Maxwell are used to wowing spectators with spectacular moments in the field, and the Australians are blessed with one of the finest fielding units in the world, with any weak link in the field being very tough to uncover.

The Australians do not hold the edge in terms of momentum going into this tournament, but mentally, they have always been one of the toughest sides and rarely fail to make their mark on the biggest stage. The Champions Trophy is unlikely to be any different. Australia can safely be considered as one of the favourites to lift the trophy and would certainly be bitterly disappointed if they somehow failed to at least reach the final given the strength of their ODI side.

Strengths

Pace attack, fielding and terrific top order.

Weaknesses

Team somewhat low on specialist-batsmen, over-reliant on Smith and Warner.

Verdict

Should reach the final, arguably favourites to win it too.

Australia squad for Champions Trophy

Steven Smith (C), David Warner (VC), Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, John Hastings, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (WK), Adam Zampa

Discuss!