4 issues Australia must solve in ODI series against India ahead of 2023 World Cup
Australia are not only the most successful team in the ODI Cricket World Cup history, with five titles under their belt, but also in ODI cricket in general. They have secured 596 victories from 983 matches in the format, overall.
Hence, Australia often has great expectations whenever a World Cup tournament is around the corner, as they are genuine contenders more often than not.
Things are no different ahead of the 2023 Cricket World Cup and they have a well-rounded side going into the mega event.
Yet, the five-time champions have a few issues to resolve to become the team to beat in the upcoming showpiece event. While the Australians did not have plenty of key players participating in their recent series in South Africa, losing the five-game contest after being 2-0 up has raised some concerns.
In the process, they also lost three consecutive ODIs for the first time by 100 runs or more, mainly due to their middle-order's failures. Hence, Pat Cummins and Co. must resolve all the key issues if they have to go into the World Cup as top contenders.
With that in mind, let's look at four major issues that the Australian team must resolve during the course of their upcoming three-match ODI series against India. This series is the last international contest for the Australia side before the World Cup.
#4 Should Australia play only Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc as their specialist quicks?
Mitchell Starc is one of the best new-ball bowlers in ODIs presently, while Pat Cummins is not only a genuine wicket-taker but also the captain. But as far as specialist quicks in the Aussie squad go, Josh Hazlewood and Sean Abbott are also in the mix. Hazlewood is a canny operator with the new ball too and troubles batters with his nagging line and lengths.
Abbott, meanwhile, has delivered handy performances in ODIs too, finishing with 4 wickets at an average of 26 and contributed useful runs down the order. Although Nathan Ellis missed out on the World Cup squad, he could play in the ODIs against India if the tourists choose to manage Starc's and Cummins' workload.
Since Australia have seam-bowling options in Mitchell Marsh, Cameron Green, and Marcus Stoinis, they might not consider playing three specialist seamers.
Moreover, three specialist quicks could leave them short on spin options. Yet, Mohali, the venue for the 1st ODI against India, could force them to play three seamers as the venue is regarded as among the most seamer-friendly in India.
The Australian team are likely to face such dilemmas throughout the World Cup also.
#3 Which all-rounders do Australia play?
With Mitchell Marsh as captain during the South Africa series, he was an automatic selection, but Australia also played Marcus Stoinis and Cameron Green as genuine all-rounders.
However, they yielded only 63 runs in five matches combined and managed only six wickets. Aaron Hardie, the outlier, also played one game and eked out two wickets.
Despite being the game-changer in the preceding T20I series, Marsh averaged only 24.60 in the 50-over games with the bat and avoided bowling throughout.
In all, it underlined the struggles in the department regarded Australia's strongest suit and begged the question - whether the all-rounder-heavy composition could prove detrimental. With Glenn Maxwell back in the squad as the World Cup beckons, he is likely to be drafted in the XI straight away.
Marsh is also set to be an automatic selection as he will open the innings with David Warner, with Travis Head out with a wrist injury. But Australia have a headache as they need to choose between Stoinis and Green, given both players' poor form with the bat recently.
Stoinis could edge Green out due to his experience of playing in India, but the latter's impactful IPL stint this year should keep him in the frame equally.
#2 How can Australia fill Ashton Agar's void for this series?
Bowling all-rounder Ashton Agar is now the undoubted second spinner in the team, behind Adam Zampa. He only played one game during the India tour earlier this year, but took two vital wickets in the series-sealing 3rd ODI in Chennai.
The West Australian also enhanced his batting credentials with an unbeaten 48 to propel the tourists to a come-from-behind win in the 1st ODI against South Africa in Bloemfontein.
While Agar's availability is a certainty for the World Cup, his must cope with the left-arm spinner's absence for their upcoming series.
The question now is: Do they play two leg-spinners in Adam Zampa and Tanveer Sangha? Or can they rely on Glenn Maxwell to deliver a significant amount of overs in all three matches? Will Australia turn to three specialist quicks?
While Zampa and Maxwell are the only genuine spin options, Cummins is also likely to turn to Marnus Labuschagne's leg-breaks.
#1 Who will be David Warner's opening partner?
Warner's spot at the top was slightly under scrutiny, given Marsh's success as an opener earlier this year in the three ODIs in India and his whirlwind opening stands with Travis Head. However, Head's wrist injury means that Warner will continue at the top, regardless of his inconsistency in the preceding South Africa tour.
However, it remains to be seen whether Marsh can pick up from where he left off the last time in India, striking at 131.08 in 3 innings with 194 runs.
Should Marsh struggle at the top, will Australia install Matthew Short or Josh Inglis at the top until Head's availability, which is likely to only be in the second half of the World Cup? Short showed immense promise during the T20I series in South Africa and has decent List A numbers.
Inglis, meanwhile, has been a spare batter for some time now on numerous tours, but is yet to play a defining knock in ODIs. The keeper-batter also opened the innings once and barely reached double figures.
With Short not part of the World Cup squad and unlikely to be drafted in, Australia are set to persist with Marsh and Warner at the top. Nevertheless, Inglis is almost certain to play the ODIs against India.
While the Aussies have middle-order issues too, Labuschagne and Steve Smith are likely to provide them stability.