Coming to the eighth edition of ICC Champions Trophy, Australia has nothing much to boast about their points so far as their first two matches of the ongoing multilateral event of 2017 ICC Champions Trophy were washed out.
The quality side witnessed splitting points after their games were washed out owing to the inclement weather which has been unkind to cricket in general and die-hard fans in nutshell and that further saw teams were getting frustrated with the end-result.
On June 2, Australian bowlers conceded 291 runs as the bowlers pegged back New Zealand while bundling out Kane Williamson-led side in 45 overs.
In Response, Australia lost swashbuckling opener David Warner at the score of 27 before losing Aaron Finch in seventh over and Moises Henriques in ninth over when Kangaroos were reeling at 53 before the rain poured down which resulted in the abandonment of a game.
After Australia struggled in their tournament opener against arch-rivals New Zealand with the bat, the Men in Yellow were in commanding position while working on their batting against Bangladesh as Mashrafe Bin Mortaza-led side was skittled out for 182 in 44.3 overs.
It was left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc, who played the pivotal role by bagging four wickets after giving away 29 runs in his 8.3 overs which further saw other bowlers contributing by picking wickets at regular intervals
Overview:
It has been Australian bowlers, who have had succeeded before rain played the spoilsport – to force batsmen walk-off the ground couple of times in a bid to chase down the target in the past one week.
The bright prospect for the Australia was the 26-year-old right-arm fast bowler Josh Hazlewood, who eked out six wickets after conceding 52 runs, in his nine overs at the economy of 5.77 runs and the side would be aiming to see him coming hard against star-studded batting line-up of England.
Australia has a fifty-fifty record against England in Champions Trophy as both the teams have had faced each other four times which saw Kangaroos winning two matches. The last time they faced each other was in 2013 edition when England defeated Australia by 48 runs.
Talking Points:
Leading from the front, Steven Smith is capable of adding the stability in the middle-order as the batting will revolve around Glenn Maxwell, Travis Head and wicket-keeper batsman Matthew Wade, but the side would be hoping an explosive start from openers David Warner and Aaron Finch, who could post runs quickly on the scorecard.
The onus will be on bowlers to restrict Eoin Morgan led-side which has registered 300-plus in their first two games so far as they went on to claim convincing wins on both the occasions.
Arguably one of the best bowling line-ups, Australia would be heavily relying on their fast bowling department (pace quartet), before expecting a decent score from the quality batting powerhouse at the top which includes David Warner and Aaron Finch.
Moreover, all-rounder, Glenn Maxwell has the capability to roll over his arm and break the crucial partnerships in the middle against formidable England which has already qualified for the knockout stage by claiming two wins in first two games against New Zealand and Bangladesh respectively.
Interestingly, Australia is packed with pace-bowling potent which comprises of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and James Pattinson, who is yet to get a game as Steven Smith had expected his players to fire in unison in a crunch game against England.
The rookie leg-spinner Adam Zampa would be a player to watch out for after maintaining his line and length which saw him bagging two wickets in his four overs after conceding 13 runs at the economy of 3.25 against Bangladesh after missing out the first game against New Zealand at Edgbaston.
Here’s the Australia’s Predicted XI:
Steven Smith (Skipper), David Warner, Aaron Finch/Chris Lynn, Moises Henriques, Glenn Maxwell, Travis Head, Matthew Wade, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa.