Cricket World Cup 2007 Preview: Australia

[This is the eleventh and the final in a series of collaborative articles assessing the merits and demerits of the teams competing for cricket's World Cup in March/April in the West Indies.]

Zainub Razvi

Two time defending champions Australia go into this year’s World Cup with a slightly unusual run up. For once, they’re not going into a tournament being tipped the overwhelming and outright favourites. Their five match losing streak, starting from their loss at the hands of a resurgent England in the Commonwealth Bank finals, and then a ‘black-wash’ at the hands of the Kiwis with a depleted side missing five regular members, means Ricky Ponting’s men are now just favourites as opposed to red hot favourites.

Much has been made of the Aussies' recent poor form, in particular the inability of the back up bowlers to deliver in the absence of strike bowler Brett Lee and all rounder Andy Symonds. Some people have regarded it as precursor of things to come and have predicted doom and gloom; others have dismissed it as a temporary hiccup. But either way, what one cannot deny is that Australia’s own confidence levels right now will not be the same as they were, say, three months ago, when they regained the Ashes 5-0. The warm up win against England where Shaun Tait got four wickets to dismiss England cheaply will restore some of the self belief back into their younger bowlers, but the World Cup will be a bigger stage and it will be a test of these guys' mental ability, more the anything else, if they’re to repeat those heroics on the main stage.

But then again, it is precisely that mental ability that gives Australia such a huge advantage over their rivals. Two decades of unmatched success at every stage they have played has given them a 'never say die' attitude unlike any other team perhaps in cricket history.

The very fact that people are writing them off could alone be enough for Australia to regain that ruthless attitude that has been a hallmark of their success over the years. They also have one other distinct advantage over other teams in this tournament. With so many injuries in the run up to big event, they’ve had no option but to give their young players, the likes of Cameron White, Shaun Tait, Mitchen Johnson, a proper run in the side and consequently they now have a fair idea of what they are capable of. Most other team’s bench strength is not as experienced, and with the World Cup being almost two months long, and injuries a problem with almost every other team, coupled with the ever present possibility of more happening any time, the contribution of these lesser known, unestablished players could be crucial. Add in their batting power, and you still have a team that could quite easily make it to the finals.

My Prediction: Runners Up

The Enigma

The Age, today, carried a very pertinent story on the Australian contingent at the World Cup headlined, "Ponting Searches For Answers". Word, from the horse's mouth, is that Ricky Ponting has held top secret one-on-one interviews with his charges to get a feel for the confidence levels within his camp and whether the players are comfortable with their roles. In fact he asked them whether they even knew what their roles were for the tournament.

Now forgive me if I am mistaken, but I was brought up thinking that the Aussies were the team that defined, if not invented, the word confidence. Ponting's latest admission signals a distinct lack of confidence, and dare I say it, a lack of communication within the setup. This is very unlike the Aussies we have come to know over the past 15 years.

Around the mid-way stage of the CB Series, I had written some thoughts around the vulnerability that was creeping into the Australians' play. At that point, they were still lossless and three-peat was very much the order of the day.

Let me tell you folks, the Aussies are in trouble.

The talk we have heard since that whitewash at the hands of New Zealand seems like a deliberate attempt to put up a smokescreen. With an ageing Glen McGrath and no reliable or consistent firepower as backup, the bowling is clearly their achilles heal. Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson have more off days than Indian public servants. Brad Hogg would not be able to find a place in most Sri Lankan first class teams and Stuart Clarke is a paper tiger in ODIs.

Sure, the batting has been able to put up decent totals, but even that department is looking shaky. Michael Clark and Brad Hodge haven't the most impressive recent results to inspire mountain loads of confidence. If and when Andrew Symonds makes a return to the lineup, there will be immense pressure on him to repeat his Herculean feats of the 2003 edition of this tournament. Will he be able to do it on such short notice? The jury is out.

If there is any team in this competition with the potential to make a liar out of me, it is the Australians. However, based on recent form and the general feeling of apprehension enveloping the side, I will be surprised if they don't struggle to make it past the semi-finals. Three in a row is no easy task, not even for a high quality team such as the Australians. I do not believe the Australians have it in them to win the tag of World Champions this April.

Angshuman Hazra

What, you may ask, is happening to the world leaders? (Note: We all know it is not South Africa, whatever the official listing.)

Hayden scores 181 and yet ends up on the losing side. The world's top team is whitewashed in a 3 match series, once scoring too less and twice too much. And this is hardly all.

A little thumb-rule analysis on the Australian team that lost 3-nil to New Zealand, however, should stop any ringing alarm bells. Symonds, Lee, Gilchrist, Ponting and Michael Clarke are missing from this Oz side. Now if we recall Ian Chappell's criterion for a winning team as Zainub points out here, each big team should have six players of significant impact: "two world class batsmen, one all rounder, one batting wicket keeper and two top notch bowlers".

The team touring New Zealand had its two world class batsmen and one top-notch bowler in Hussey, Hayden and Bracken. But as on date Watson, Haddin and Tait - or for that matter even the great McGrath - are not substitute enough for Symonds (all rounder), Gilchrist (batting wicket keeper) and dead-Lee (the other strike bowler).

I would not write off Australia from a certain semi final berth based on this evidence. If anything, this 'ragged' look ahead of the tourney suits them just fine as some teams may just happen to underestimate their resilience and end up relaxing at a crucial passage of play. We all know what that results in, don't we?

Sibin Mohan

Three time world-champions with the last two wins being in succession, Australia have been the unstoppable juggernaut of the cricketing world for close to a decade now. Mark Taylor polished the team that Border left him and he massed the mantle to the more than able Steve Waugh and it seemed like Ricky Ponting was going to top them all. Well, he started well by winning the 2003 world cup, but there are cracks showing in Australia's armour of late. Their batting lineup is still ferocious and feared by most bowling attacks, what with Ponting leading from the front and with openers Hayden and Gilchrist who can single-handedly win games for Australia. Now they also have Brad Hogg and Symonds in the team with equally destructive capabilities.

The point to note about Australia's batting lineup, is that they rarely just "win" - they conquer, they crush and ride roughshod on anyone who might step up and bowl to them...but a cricket game is not won by batting alone. You need to have a bowling attack that can run rings around opposition batsmen. Until a couple of years ago, they did. Of late though, that bowling attack doesn't seem to be showing up for Australia. I have long believed that Glen McGrath was the key to Australia's dominance in world cricket over the last decade and it seems like with him being out of form, or about to retire, Australia's bowling attack is floundering.

Their recent losses to England and New Zealand might have made them less confident and shown the rest of the world that they can be beaten - in fact, New Zealand were able to give them a sound thrashing. This in spite of the fact that the batsmen all delivered (in fact Hayden's 181 was stunning), but the bowling attack couldn't contain the opposition, thus showing everyone else exactly where the weakness lies. It might also serve as a wakeup call for the Aussies who might come out with all guns blazing and with a point prove.

How ironic - the winners of the last two World Cups need to prove themselves in this edition of the World Cup. The game of cricket is wonderful indeed!

My prediction: Gut feeling - they won't make it past the semi-finals.

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