ICC World Cup 2019 | Australia's predicted XI for the match against England
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Having finished second in the group stage with seven wins, Australia will take on their arch rivals England on Thursday for a place in the World Cup Final. The Aussies have been hampered by injuries, as Usman Khawaja tore his hamstring against the Proteas, resulting in changes to the top order.
Openers
David Warner: David Warner has looked like a man on a mission so far this World Cup, and with 638 runs, stands second to Rohit Sharma on the run charts. Coming off a 122 in the last group game against South Africa, Warner’s confidence would be sky-high heading into this contest, and with opener likely to receive a huge round of boos, there will be no better occasion for the southpaw to silence the English crowd with his bat, in their own backyard.
Aaron Finch: After having started the tournament in fine form, Finch has hit a slight roadblock, picking up two single digit in his last two outings. But having scored a century in the group encounter against England, Finch would walk into the contest in high spirits, having already gotten the better of the English bowlers once this tournament. Finch has scored two hundreds in his last two World Cup outings against England, and would be looking to set the tone upfront by making it three in a row.
Middle-order
Steve Smith: Having batted in three different positions through the course of the group stage, Smith will finally get to bat in his favorite No.3 position, thanks to the injury to Usman Khawaja. Despite having three fifties to his name, Smith has failed to convert any of them into centuries. Just like his compatriot Warner, Smith is expected to receive a not-so-special welcome from the English crowd, and the ex-skipper would be looking to repeat his heroics from the 2015 World Cup semis, where he struck a sublime century to take his side to the Final.
Peter Handscomb: Handscomb, along with Khawaja, was one of the main architects in Australia’s stunning series victory over India ahead of the World Cup. After being terribly unlucky to have been left out of the squad, the Victorian will finally get his chance, thanks to the injury to Khawaja. Having traveled with the Australia ‘A’ squad, posting two fifties in three innings, Handscomb would have the perfect assessment of the conditions and Australia couldn’t have asked for a better replacement heading into their crunch encounter with England.
Alex Carey: Alex Carey has been a revelation for Australia in this World Cup, averaging 65.80 so far this tournament, pulling Australia out of trouble on many an occasion. In Australia’s last match against the Proteas, combining with Warner, Carey almost pulled off an impossible heist, but fell marginally short in guiding Australia to yet another win. With talks of a potential promotion of the wicket-keeper to Number 5, Australia would be banking on the southpaw to deliver the goods - be it stabilizing the innings or giving them a final flourish.
All-Rounders
Marcus Stoinis: Saying that Stoinis has struggled in this World Cup would be a massive understatement. The Western Australian has no scores of 25 or more in six outings with the bat so far this World Cup, and had to pass a last gasp fitness test to be deemed fit for the semis. However, the all-rounder enjoyed a fine outing with the ball in the group match against England, returning figures of 1/29 of seven overs, accounting for the prized scalp of Jos Buttler. If not with the bat, Stoinis would definitely be looking to make inroads into the English lineup with the ball.
Glenn Maxwell: Teams have targeted Glenn Maxwell, peppering him with the short ball early on in his innings, and the all-rounder has succumbed to the very plan in his last 3 matches. Maxwell was drilled with short balls in the nets ahead of the encounter, and he definitely could expect a lot of rockets from Jofra Archer and Mark Wood coming his way. But there are few batsmen in the world who are up for a challenge as much as Maxwell, and the Victorian would definitely be looking to fight fire with fire when he takes on England.
Pacers
Mitchell Starc: With 26 wickets in nine innings, Mitchell Starc is one wicket away from setting a new record for the most number of wickets taken in a single World Cup edition, and the left-armer would have his eyes on the record big time. When Ben Stokes looked like he was going to drive England to victory at Lord’s, Starc castled him with a vicious inswinger - a ball which till date remains one of the moments of the 2019 World Cup. Despite not being at his usual best against the Proteas, Starc would be raring to go and deliver once again in the biggest stage the sport has to offer.
Pat Cummins: Having picked up just two wickets in his last four matches, Pat Cummins has fizzled out as the tournament has progressed. With Jason Behrendorff taking over the duty of being the new ball deputy to Starc, Cummins has struggled to take wickets as the first-change bowler, and his form clearly hurt Australia in the last match, as they conceded a whopping 325. The right-armer would need to ste up his game come the semi-final, as it would be too much to ask of Starc to take things upon himself game after game.
Jason Behrendorff: Behrendorff has been an epitome of consistency in the Australian bowling lineup ever since he took the new ball in the game against England, and has not looked back ever since. The Western Australian set the tone for Australia in the group match when his inswinger knocked over James Vince, and he would give everything he has to repeat the same in the semi-final. While he has been a tad susceptible at the death, there is no question of the threat he poses upfront, and the Aussies would look up to him to remove the English openers early.
Spinner
Nathan Lyon: Coming into the side as a second-choice spinner behind Adam Zampa, Nathan Lyon has leapfrogged the leggie thanks to his control and consistency. Lyon strangled the English batsmen in the group match at Lord’s, and would once again be licking his lips, with left-handers aplenty in the English line-up. Despite the wickets column not reading so pretty, the off-spinner has been exceptional ever since coming into to the team, and his experience, control and consistency might just separate the two teams come Thursday.
