When was the last time Australia was at bottom of a World Cup table?
Australia would take on Sri Lanka on Monday from the bottom of the 2023 World Cup points table.
A combination of incoherent teamwork, difficult fixtures upfront and poor fielding led to a situation that no one over 30 would have ever imagined. Five-time champions, a team that went unbeaten in 2003 and 2007, at the bottom?
Well, this is not the first time. The mighty Kangaroos held the wooden spoon briefly in the 1992 World Cup, hosted jointly by Australia and New Zealand. They lost their first two matches of the tournament in that edition as well.
In the tournament opener, played between the two hosts, New Zealand put up 248/6 batting first, riding on a Martin Crowe century. In the second innings, David Boon scored a hundred too but was run out by Chris Harris soon after.
Medium paceer Gavin Larsen took three wickets, including Mark Waugh and his brother Steve, to get them all out for just 211, sealing a 37-run win.
The Aussie batting crumbled again in the following match against South Africa. Allan Donald picked three wickets for 34 runs and no batter scored even 30 runs. They ended up at 170/9 after 49 overs.
South Africa went about the chase slowly but Kepler Wessels, playing his first World Cup for South Africa after representing Australia in the 1983 edition, top-scored with a 148-ball 81 to take his team through in the 47th over.
South Africa's nine-wicket left Australia and Zimbabwe as the only two teams without a win. Because the latter had contested more closely with Sri Lanka and Pakistan, Australia's net run rate was worse, positioning them at the bottom of the nine-team table.
Did Australia survive staying at the bottom of the table?
Zimbabwe suffered a heavy defeat against West Indies in the next match while Australia sneaked in a one-run win over India courtesy of two run-outs. The Aussies were no longer the bottom-placed team but lost two more of their next five matches.
They missed out on a semi-final spot by a point to Pakistan (who had one game washed out). Imran Khan's team eventually went on to win their first-ever title.
Pat Cummins' current team in the 2023 World Cup is in a similar position. The 1992 World Cup was the first time ICC tried a round-robin format that is currently in use and was also deployed in 2019. It's an unrelenting format because teams change every three days and momentum plays a massive role.
Sri Lanka in Lucknow aren't the easiest opponents to face either. Though the 2023 Asia Cup finalists look down and out due to a long injury list, they can be brilliant on their day, especially on spin-friendly pitches.
The Aussies will need inspiration from their senior pros Steve Smith and David Warner. A win here could help them turn it around and gather a wave of momentum that like 1992, might push them as at least challengers for a semi-final spot.