World Cup: Australia top table but need to tie up loose ends to challenge India, England for title

What would someone not following the World Cup deduce from having one look at some of the key statistics of the tournament? Australia, the reigning champions, have more points and have the top run-scorer and the top wicket-taker to boot. On Thursday, David Warner also registered the highest individual score of the tournament.

Easy for the layman in question to pick Australia as the favourite, right? But how good have they been?

For starters, there are no question marks over the firepower they possess. The 48-run win over a pugnacious Bangladesh outfit proved that, much like India or England, a big hundred from one of their top-three batsmen along with ferocious boundary hitting at the death boosts the chances of setting a match-winning score.

With over 700 runs scored at Trent Bridge, it is up for debate what a match-winning score is on a flat England wicket, but that is another conversation. Australia have moved closer to clinching a spot in the top-four and the pieces are slowly falling in place.

Warner and Finch are in imperious touch. Steve Smith has effortlessly slotted himself into the middle-order since coming back into the team, and Glenn Maxwell has looked every bit the death-over behemoth with a piece of willow in his hand.

Questioning Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Co for allowing Bangladesh to score their highest-ever ODI score might be a touch harsh on the bowling department. The Tigers have come a long way from being the whipping boys of established Test nations in major tournaments.

They are now fearless, have oodles of experience in their ranks and not cowed down by pressure. Star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan’s promotion to the no 3 spot is proving to be one of the most remarkable moves we have witnessed so far. Moreover, there was little from the wicket that the bowlers could work with.

Warner’s top-order template

Warner’s approach has been a tad puzzling. Chasing a big total, the 32-year-old fought tooth and nail to preserve his wicket against India in a huge run-chase before he was dismissed for a painstaking 84-ball 56. He adopted a conservative approach against Sri Lanka too, but couldn’t get a big score.

Against Pakistan and Bangladesh it was Finch who took the mantle of being the aggressor but both games saw Warner cross the three-figure mark to build a platform for his team’s victory. His strike rate in this tournament – 89.40 – has paled compared to a rapid career scoring rate of 95.60. Was spin legend Shane Warne also confused?

“This very conservative approach by Australia is very odd, especially on a small ground with a super-quick outfield as the ball hasn’t spun or seamed. [They are] leaving way to much for Maxwell, Stoinis and Carey to do,” Warne tweeted.

Warner’s reputation as a swashbuckling opener, sending opposition fielders on a leather hunt in the early overs, precedes him. That was the norm atleast before he served his one-year ban in the aftermath of the ball-tampering scandal. And it’s not uncommon for a top-order batsman to resist the temptation of trading Twenty20 instincts for a long-term approach.

India’s Rohit Sharma has more or less mastered the art of taking his innings deep in One-day Internationals and like Warner, is in red-hot form in England. For all of the range hitting specialists England possess, Joe Root’s measured yet busy approach forms a vital part of their batting makeup.

A day ago, New Zealand’s thrilling win over South Africa came on the back of their star batsman and captain Kane Williamson’s staunch, ice-cool vigil till the final over. Perhaps Australia’s top-order falling cheaply against West Indies saw the emergence of a new Warner; a wily old warhorse who is ready to curb his natural instinct to dominate from the outset. To the southpaw’s credit, he went on a boundary-hitting spree against Mashrafe Mortaza and Co once set – his final 89 came from just 50 deliveries. As long as Warner is scoring centuries, Australia wouldn’t mind one bit.

Starc, Cummins and?

Australia’s new ball pair of Starc and Cummins have been in fine form, accounting for 26 dismissals between them. Starc had a poor outing against India but has been Finch’s go-to man for breakthroughs. Cummins has shown control and has been an apt foil for the MVP of the 2015 edition.

But Australia’s support cast have not hit their stride. Marcus Stoinis has been steady but going into the latter stages, exhibiting control in the middle-overs is the key. Spinner Adam Zampa has impressed only in patches and his lines, at times, have been ordinary.

Compare that to India and England, two teams widely tipped to win the title along with Australia. New Zealand, who lie second in the table, have sterner tests ahead of them and it’s too soon to judge where they stand in the tournament’s top-four race.

India and England have shown that there is better depth in their bowling ranks, and have had more contributors to the wickets tally. The Bangladesh batsmen were fairly comfortable rotating the strike or getting the occasional boundary once they saw off the early danger of Starc and Cummins. They were not aided by some unusually sloppy fielding. The same trend was witnessed during the five-time champions’ matches against India and Sri Lanka as well.

Australia will need to be a lot tighter after the first powerplay to stand toe to toe with England and India. Exactly, 366 days ago at Trent Bridge, Australia conceded the highest-ever ODI total. After a nightmarish 2018, Finch’s side is slowly hitting its stride. Some key individuals, as mentioned earlier, have found form but have work to do as their two fierce rivals have established themselves as the pace-setters in the United Kingdom.