ICC Champions Trophy 2013: Australia vs New Zealand, Match 7, Group A - Aus Preview

Australia find themselves in a must win situation as they take on New Zealand in a Group A clash in the ICC Champions Trophy at Edgbaston on Wednesday. While New Zealand come into the match on the back of a narrow 1 wicket win over Sri Lanka, the Aussies, after a demoralizing 48 run loss against England here, need to win all their remaining games to defend the only ICC trophy left in their cabinet.

They can, though, take some heart from the fact that the last time they were in a must-win position in an ICC tournament was in the 1999 World Cup in England, when Steve Waugh’s side went all the way to lift the trophy and ushered in a long era of dominance.

It was the batting that led them down in their opening tie against England, and to make matters worse, they will again be missing the services of regular skipper Michael Clarke. The openers David Warner and Shane Watson looked out of their depth against the disciplined English opening bowlers, but the team will once again look up to those two senior pros to provide a solid start. Stand-in skipper George Bailey was the only batsman to make any kind of impression and in Clarke’s absence, once again he will be the fulcrum of the batting lineup in the middle overs.

The bowlers did reasonably well in the last game to restrict England to 269, but there is still room for improvement. The spin department is certainly not their strength and understandably they have been keen to field an all-pace attack. But the conditions here have been drier than expected, and Bailey has indicated that they might include either Xavier Doherty or Glenn Maxwell in the playing XI.

X-Factor

When one talks of an Australian all rounder, it’s hard to look beyond Shane Watson. But James Faulkner gave a good account of himself in the game against England. Coming from a fruitful IPL season, Faulkner has carried his good form to the international stage and shown why he is rated highly in Australia. His spell in the New Zealand innings will again be crucial, and given the way Australians are batting now, he might have an important role to play with the bat as well.

Possible XI

Shane Watson, David Warner, Phillip Hughes, George Bailey (c), Adam Voges (wk), Mathew Wade, Mitchell Marsh/Glenn Maxwell, James Faulkner, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc/Xavier Doherty, Clint McKay

Pitch Condition

There will be a bit of help with the new ball, but the wicket here will settle down to become a good batting track. It has also been quite dry and a bit abrasive this season, and might even aid reverse swing towards the end of the innings.

Head to Head

History is tilted hugely in favor of Australia who, in 124 meetings, have trounced the Kiwis 85 times while New Zealand have come on top on 34 occasions.

The last Champions Trophy encounter between the two sides was in the final of the 2009 edition at Centurion, where Australia won by 6 wickets to lift the trophy for the second time.

Prediction

A Trans-Tasman affair always brings the best out of the two sides and with stakes sky high, this should be a cracker of a contest. With the odds stacked against them, expect the Australians to come out all guns blazing.