ICC World Cup 2019 | West Indies' predicted XI for encounter against Australia
After an emphatic victory against Pakistan, West Indies are likely to go into the game against Australia without any changes. Although a couple of players had slight niggles, they have been given the green light as the team would aim to avenge warm-up defeat against the Australians.
Openers
Chris Gayle
Possibly the batsman with the best form going into the World Cup after having scored at an average of 41+ and strike rate of 150 in the latest IPL season, the ‘Universe Boss’ will be a threat right from the word go for the Australian bowlers. Fifth consecutive World Cup, nearly 20,000 international runs in 450+ appearances across all the three formats of the game, the dominating figure has it all in his kitty. 474 runs in five ODI innings at an average of 95 in ODIs in 2019, if he gets going half the battle would be won already.
Shai Hope
Placed number four in the ICC ODI rankings for batsmen, Shai Hope is simply a quality batsman and the team would be relying on him to make big scores throughout the tournament. Coming into the tournament having scored at an average of 94 in the tri-series against Bangladesh and Ireland, the 25-year-old already has 2000+ runs in ODIs with a career average of 50+ and will be looking to leave his mark on cricket’s biggest stage.
Middle-order
Darren Bravo
As the saying goes, form is temporary, class is permanent. Darren Bravo is going through a lean patch at the moment having last scored an ODI century three years ago. His statistics in England are subpar too, having 55 runs in five innings at an average of 13.75. However, his quality as a batsman makes him a regular starter and he is bound to return to his scoring form sooner.
Nicolas Pooran
After a blistering 34 off 19 balls against Pakistan to seal the match in his team’s favour, Pooran will be running high on confidence as he will take the field in what would only be his third ODI. Having Chris Gayle himself as his idol, no wonder Pooran is known for his uninhibited aggression and wonderful stroke playing ability. With the small size of Trent Bridge along with its flat pitches, he can prove to be the team’s crucial player in putting up a big score.
Shimron Hetmyer
A wonderful batsman who has shown a lot of promise, the 22-year-old has time and again struggled with the problem of not being able to convert his good starts into anything meaningful. Having led the U19 team to the World Cup title in 2016, he has been labelled as once in a generation player by legend Stuart Law and is capable of playing big knocks regardless of the quality of the bowling attack.
All-rounders
Jason Holder
The skipper led his troops from the front in the first match as he picked up three wickets which helped his team annihilate the opposition batting lineup. Having held the number one all-rounder spot in the ICC ODI rankings only recently, his leadership has been key for the West Indies and he will look to rally his troops by performing both with the bat and the ball in order to clinch a victory against Australia.
Andre Russell
Simply the man of the moment, his fiery spell against Pakistan will definitely form a part of the tournament’s highlight reel when it comes to a close. Having had a sensational IPL with KKR in which he was named as player of the tournament after having scored 500+ runs, when he gets going with the bat, stopping him is extremely tough.
Carlos Brathwaite
Though not in his best form at the moment, Brathwaite showed a glimpse of what he has to offer against Pakistan and the T20I captain is one of the senior players of the squad who is expected to lead his fellow bowlers from the front. Capable of getting in a decent shift with the bat, Brathwaite is certain to start the game.
Bowlers
Ashley Nurse
After being in and out of the squad for years, Nurse has finally managed to become a regular feature in the lineup and will be looking to pick up some crucial wickets with his cunning off break bowling. Though the tournament has so far belonged to the pacers, he has the ability to make an impact as he is the only pure spinner in the West Indies team more often than not, something which seals his place in the first XI considering the forms of the other spinners in the squad.
Sheldon Cottrell
Another crucial man of the West Indies’ golden quartet, Cottrell has not had much success with the international team when compared to the promise he showed on the domestic circuit. However, he has the ability to give any batsman in the world a run for their money on his day and put up a fine bowling performance against Pakistan. The right arm fast medium will look to add to the lethality of the other quicks and rattle the Australian batsmen with his bounce.
Oshane Thomas
He simply could not have asked for a better World Cup debut. In less than six overs, his pace and bounce managed to take four wickets in what has probably been the performance of the tournament so far as he made headlines all around the world for his performance. Having only played 10 ODIs so far, he already has 19 wickets under his belt and will be looking to cause destruction with the new ball at Trent Bridge.
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