The curious case of Australia’s batting
With seven wins in eight matches and with both openers amassing more than 500 runs, Aussies sit mighty on the top of the table. But despite the numbers reading pretty, there is a massive issue with their batting which has gone unnoticed, and if not addressed, might smell trouble for the Kangaroos.
When one talks about the Australian batting, the mind automatically wanders back to the days of Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden opening the innings, with Ricky Ponting, Damien Martyn and Andrew Symonds following them up - a devastating sign for any opposition. While not possessing the same firepower, the current Aussie line-up has quietly gone about its business, slowly but steadily developing into a force to be reckoned with. However, at times, one often gets a feeling that despite having all the pieces to solve the puzzle, they seemed to have misplaced the pieces, often raising the question - “What could have been?”. Â
Despite amassing a total of 300 or more three of the five times they have batted first in this World Cup, the finishing touches have not quite been there with the batting, and while they might be getting away with it in the group stages, it might very well come back to haunt them in the semi-final. The deadly opening combination of Aaron Finch and David Warner has been the most prolific partnership in this World Cup, averaging a mind-boggling 82.12 per inning, which includes three hundred-run partnerships. However, this has meant that Australia's No.3 position in this World Cup, which has been a point of debate for them constantly switching between Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja, has taken a hit, averaging just 39.62 in eight innings.
But in all fairness, there is no way that Australia could have prepared for such a weird situation, especially with their opening batsmen almost over-performing to an extent. In 2018, Australia, having tried 5 different players in the opening slot in the form of Travis Head, Chris Lynn, D’arcy Short, Aaron Finch and David Warner - averaged a mere 29.76 for the first wicket. This resulted in a situation where the team was one or two down for not too many, as a result of which they built the team with the idea of stopping collapses and having batsmen who can bat through the middle, rather than batsmen who can launch from the go.Â
But to their delight, after months of failed experimentation, Australia finally found a stable opening pair in the form of Finch and Khawaja - a batsman who was not in their World Cup plans until the start of the year. However, Khawaja with his performances ensured that he was a certain lock in the starting XI, but a returning Warner meant that the selectors had no option but to drop Khawaja down the order. However, Finch and Warner exceeding expectations - almost over-performing in a sense - has not only meant that the impact of both Smith and Khawaja has been significantly reduced but also has signalled an over-reliance on Glenn Maxwell to up the ante and push for a big score, especially with Marcus Stoinis struggling with the bat.Â
Australia have been guilty of not capitalizing the starts given by their openers, and their indecisiveness in the usage of Smith, Khawaja and Maxwell has hurt them in their quest to garner big totals. Sending in a player of Maxwell's ability in the 31st over might not be a bad thing at all, but with no player in the side possessing the sheer power hitting ability of the Victorian, an early dismissal would mean the side will be left with no power hitters for the remaining overs, as seen in the games against Pakistan and England.
In the game against Pakistan, Maxwell was sent in to bat with a good 21 overs left, but his dismissal in the 34th over meant that Australia only added 84 runs in the next 15 overs for the loss of 7 wickets. Similarly, in the game against England, Maxwell walked in to bat in the 36th over - a more ideal situation for him. However, after his dismissal in the 39th over, Australia went on to add just 72 runs in the next 70 balls for the loss of three wickets. With Stoinis under-performing with the bat and with Carey serving as more of a sheet anchor, Maxwell's wicket becomes priceless for Australia in their quest to post mammoth totals.
However, lucky enough for them, the solution might just be right in front of their eyes. All the Aussies need to do is to rewind back to the match against Bangladesh. Despite coming in to bat in the 24th over with the openers getting the team off to a phenomenal start, Khawaja was able to stitch a long partnership with Warner, who in turn went on to score a mammoth 165. This also meant that Australia were able to use Glenn Maxwell in the last 10 overs, the ideal scenario for both Maxwell and the team. The 192-run partnership between Warner and Khawaja meant that the former came to bat in the 45th over, effectively meaning that even his failure will not hurt Australia much, as the damage was already done by Warner and Khawaja.Â
A similar display was put up by the Aussies against the Lankans, with Smith stitching a 173-run partnership with skipper Aaron Finch, with the pair batting out till the 43rd over to ensure that they set the perfect platform for Maxwell to launch. Having chopped and changed between Smith and Khawaja for the No.3 position in the first four matches, Australia seem to have finally settled down on the latter for the No.3 position - a move that has paid dividends for them, with the 32-year-old accumulating two scores of 80 or more in his last three innings.
While the openers getting them off to a flyer is important to their chances, Australia need to realize that they possess the firepower to bat teams out of the match if they utilize their resources effectively, and their middle is as important to their chances as their invincible opening duo if not more.
One could term Australia as lucky to have come out of the group stages unscathed, but giving quality opposition like India, England and New Zealand a second bite at the cherry might not go so well for the Kangaroos. It’s high time for the defending champions to set things straight with their batting order and approach, and if they indeed execute it to perfection, there is no reason why they cannot go all the way.