If ever Cricket had a split personality, its been Australia in the last 4 years. There was one in 2017-2018, where they won only 7 out of 28 games & then the Australia we all are used to seeing showed up in 2019 winning games consistently on the trot. Australian Cricket was at an all time low in 2017-2018 post the Sand Paper - Ball Tampering Saga incident. That was a phase where you felt, Is this really Australia playing !?! But 2019 has been a complete reverse of fortunes.
There was a time when skipper Aaron Finch found it very difficult to make a run. Just as the bans of Steve Smith & David Warner were coming to an end, all of a sudden everyone started scoring runs. Soon their losing streak was converted to a winning streak, It actually felt like each player was making a statement that he should not be dropped to bring back the high profile banned duo.
The kind of form that David Warner has been at IPL with the calmness of Steve Smith has just given Australia the perfect depth in their batting line up. Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins make a formidable pair, the only concern being have they had enough match time. If there is an injury to one of Marcus Stoinis or Glen Maxwell, there is no all rounder available in the reserves as a sixth bowling option.
Likely XI
1) David Warner
2) Aaron Finch
3) Usman Khwaja
4) Steve Smith
5) Glen Maxwell
6) Marcus Stoinis
7) Alex Carey
8) Pat Cummins
9) Mitchel Starc
10) Adam Zampa
11) Kane Richardson
Reserves
1) Shaun Marsh - Reserve Batsmen
2) Nathan Coulter Nile & 3) Jason Behrendoff - Reserve fast bowlers
4) Nathan Lyon - Reserve Spinner
Verdict - With the kind of form & experience they have on the Big Stage, I expect them to surely make it to the Top 4.
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