They can do it again

The hosts have done it in ODIs previously,
can they do it in the T20Is as well?

Australia are a unit that know the art of winning at big stages. They have won five ODI World Cups in 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2015, while they won two Champions Trophy in 2006 and 2009. They added another trophy to their cabinet as they won their maiden World T20 title in 2021.

Australia will be defending their T20 crown in their backyard and they look pretty capable of doing so under the leadership of Aaron Finch. The home team are in fine form and have a phenomenal side to field.

Strengths

Opening pair

The defending champions have a reliable opening pair in the shape of David Warner and captain Finch. The left-handed batter has played 95 T20Is so far, scoring 2,850 runs at an average of 33.92 with an impressive strike rate of 142.0.

He maintains an even better record while batting at home, maintaining a healthy average of 44.42 at 150 strike-rate.

However, he has been a bit underwhelming in the T20 World Cups, where he has played 30 matches and have scored 762 runs with a strike rate of 135.10.

Meanwhile, the right-handed batter has scored 3,013 runs in 99 matches at an average of 34.23 with a strike rate of 144.09. Finch has a slightly lower average and strike rate while playing in Australia, 31.06 and 134.33, respectively.

They have vast experience in international cricket, having played about 200 hundred games combined. They are skilful and seasoned enough to give Australia a decent start even against dangerous bowling lines.

 Explosive middle-order

Australian middle-order is comprised of more all-rounders than specialist batters, including Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Tim David. All these batters are very much capable of taking Australia home from almost any situation.

Marsh has played 46 T20Is, scoring at an average of 27.87 with a strike rate of 144.69. Meanwhile, Maxwell is vastly experienced, having played 97 20-over games.

The right-handed batter scores with a strike rate of 150.81; however, the problem with him is his consistency.

If he gets going, there is no stopping for him, but he seldom tests the opposition’s bowlers and rather gives away his wicket easily.

Then there is Stoinis, who is arguably the hardest hitter of the cricket ball at the moment. He scores at an average of 27.87 at a healthy strike rate of 144.49.

Meanwhile, David is a destructive player. He has played just a handful of games for his team so far. However, there is no question about his talent and has been rated pretty highly by the experts and his teammates.

He can be a game-changer for Australia as he has proven credentials in the Pakistan Super League and Indian Premier League and there is little doubt that he can replicate his performances on the international stage.

Earlier, former Australia’s world cup-winning captain Ricky Ponting stated that he can play the role of Andrew Symonds in the current national team.

Apart from these all-rounders, their wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade has finally found his groove in international cricket.

He single-handedly took Australia over the line in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2021, and since then he has been rated as one of the best finishers in the shortest format of the game.

In the last 12 months, he has been scoring at an average of 69.60 with a strike rate of 153.30, which is just extraordinary.

What makes this Australian batting line special is their nerves of steel. They hardly get under pressure and play all the games in every situation with a belief that if they stay out in the crease, they will take their side home.

Bowling

The reigning champions have a brilliant fast-bowling trio in the shape of experienced Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins.

The left-arm pacer Starc has played 54 T20Is, where he has struck 70 times and leaked runs at an economy rate of 7.6. The 32-year-old is lethal with his yorkers at the start as well as at the end of the inning.

Hazlewood, on the other hand, is a more line-and-length bowler and is extremely effective in the shortest format of the game as well.

He has 52 wickets under his belt in 36 outings, which is a phenomenal record. Similarly, Cummins has dismissed 51 batters in 45 games, maintaining an economy rate of 7.28.

Then there are spinners, Maxwell and Adam Zampa. Maxwell can be a potential target for the batting teams, whereas, Zampa is quite tricky to hit and a wicket-taking option for the Aussies.

The leg-spinner has given away runs at merely 6.93 runs per over in his T20I career, while he has taken 77 wickets in 68 games.

Zampa is probably Australia’s most precious weapon in their bowling arsenal when it comes to T20Is.

Weaknesses

Fourth pacer

If one of the three pacers of Australia goes for runs or gets injured, then they look troubled.

On paper, they have Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Stoinis as pace bowling options, but they are not that effective with the ball in hand.

Stoinis has bowled in 25 innings and has taken 17 wickets, giving away runs at 8.45 runs per over.

On the other hand, Marsh has bowled in 22 innings, taking 15 wickets with an economy rate of 7.76.

Cameron Green looked like a better option as a fast-bowling all-rounder and he was impressive at the opening position as well.

However, Australia did not persist with him and dropped him from the squad after India, West Indies and England series.

Finch’s slump in form

Another point of concern for the hosts is that their captain is not in top form. The 35-year-old, in the last 12 months, has scored 540 runs in 23 innings at an average of 24.54 and at a below-par strike rate of 121.34.

If Australia are to do well in the World Cup, they would want their captain to do well at the top of the order alongside Warner, who has been in sublime touch during the same span.

Recent form

Australia have been in prime form in 2022 in the 20-over format of the game. They played 16 games, nine on the home ground, three in India, three in Sri Lanka and one in Pakistan. They have won nine contests in the ongoing year, of these victories, five came in Australia, two in Sri Lanka and one each in Pakistan and India.

Prediction

There is hardly any doubt that Australia will go to the semi-finals at least. The mighty Aussies have done it in the past in the 50-over format where they defended the crown successfully and they have everything in their arsenal to replicate that effort in the T20 format.

They have a good amalgamation of experience, flamboyance and intelligence. Moreover, these conditions favour their style of play as well.

They have played 55 games so far in their backyard, winning 33 of them and ending up on the losing end on merely 19 occasions, which makes it a win/loss ratio of 1.736.

Keeping all these factors in view, apparently, there is no reason why the reigning champions cannot win the title again. 

Squad

Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa