Biswajit JhaAustralia, despite their success in every format are yet to win a Twenty20 World Cup. Though they are no more the world champions in any form of the game, they have the talent to win the trophy this year.
Strength: Australia, led by George Bailey, are one of the favourites to win the competition because of their batting strength and their all-round skills.
Australia’s biggest strength is their batting and they would definitely bank on it to post huge totals every time they go out to bat. They have two explosive openers in David Warner and Shane Watson who can give sleepless nights to any bowling attack in the world.
Their middle order is also one of the strongest with the presence of two Hussey brothers, Cameron White, skipper Bailey and explosive lower order bat Glenn Maxwell. Wicket-keeper batsman Mathew Wade is also a very good batsman. He can also bat at different positions which gives his team an opportunity to try out different combinations according to the demand of the situations.
All-rounders play an important role in the T20 format. And Australia have plenty of them in their armoury. Shane Watson is one of the best in business. He can win a match either with the bat or the ball. Daniel Christian is another man who has the capacity to turn the table with his all-round skills. He will be desperate to prove his worth in the tournament and would want to establish himself as the one of the most valuable players in this Australian side. Then there is experienced David Hussey and young Glenn Maxwell, who provide spin bowling options for their team.
Weakness: If batting is very experienced, Australia’s bowling, especially pace bowling, is little inexperienced. Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins are pretty new to the international cricket. They may have proved themselves on quick, bouncy tracks back home but performing on Sri Lanka’s slow and low track will be altogether different ball game. Only Ben Hilfenhaus has some kind of experience of playing in the sub-continent. Overall, Australia’s pace bowling attack is something which can trouble them during the tournament.
The spin bowling is better than their pace bowling unit with the two left-arm spinners in comeback man Brad Hogg and Xavier Doherty. But Australia should have added one more spinner in place of a pacer in the squad as the quality of spin bowling will determine the fortunes of many sides in a tournament.
Opportunity: Despite having good teams, Australia failed to win this trophy in the first two World Cups. Unlike the last two occasions, they were not the clear favourites. Australia are no longer the best team in the world. They are more of an underdog this time which will help them play their game peacefully. Since they have a very good team, they have this perfect opportunity to win the World T20 and start the journey of becoming the number one team in the world.
Threat: Despite having some very good batsmen in their side, Australia might struggle on Sri Lanka’s slow pitches. There will be some tracks in Sri Lanka which will test batsmen’s skills against the slow bowlers. Hitting from the word go may not be easy. It will be an altogether different game when they face the sub-continental side who will pack their sides with as many spinners possible.
Newbies: Glenn Maxwell, Pat Cummins
Comeback men: Brad Hogg, Cameron White
Players to watch out for: Shane Watson, David Warner, Mike Hussey
George Bailey (captain), Daniel Christian, Pat Cummins, Xavier Doherty, Ben Hilfenhaus, Brad Hogg, David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Glenn Maxwell, Clint McKay, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Shane Watson, Cameron White
