- Captain: Aaron Finch.
- Coach: Justin Langer.
- 2015 WC Result: Champions!
- Best Result: Champions in 1992, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015.
- Ignored for squad: Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Jhye Richardson (injury), Ashton Turner.
AUSTRALIA
Regardless of who’s in and who’s out of the Australian cricket squad, they almost always begin as favourites of any major global cricket tournament. Here too, while everyone’s harping on about England’s and India’s chances, Australia automatically gets listed as among the top three favourites, even though they’re not longer the mighty, menacing Aussies that won three consecutive World Cups between 1999 and 2007. And then after a break, again in 2015!.
Australia has been under-performing since the last 12-16 months ever since the ban of Steve Smith and David Warner due to the ball tampering saga. However, the new team has come of age just in time for the ICC 2019 World Cup and they have some good results under their belts coming into the tournament. Moreover, both of Warner (692 runs) and Smith (319 runs) had fantastic seasons at the recent Indian Premier League, showing no signs of rust at all.
3 months ago, Usman Khawaja had no ODI centuries to his name and then suddenly, he peaked as Australia beat India 3-2 in the ODI series in India where Khawaja scored 383 runs in 5 games including 2 tons, 2 fifties and a stunning average of 76. Peter Handscomb also scored 236 runs in that series and it was unfortunate he had to miss out as the two heroes of Australian cricket returned. Expect Khawaja to play a big role in the World Cup.
ALSO SEE: List of top fantasy cricket websites in India
Pat Cummins is going to be the biggest star for Australia at the World Cup, someone who has been a bowling machine in recent months and he also picked up 14 wickets in that series against India, followed by 3 wickets in a single ODI against Pakistan and 7 wickets in two warm-up games against New Zealand XI recently. There’s no doubt about who will end as Australia’s top wicket-taker at the 2019 World Cup.
Jhye Richardson missed out after being included in the preliminary squad thanks to an injury but it was shocking to see Kane Richardson who got added to the squad instead of Josh Hazlewood. Kane has barely played any international cricket in recent times and may warm the bench through the tournament. Another pacer is Mitchell Starc who was the joint highest wicket-taker at the 2015 World Cup with 15 scalps. He’s not the same scary Starc that he was 4 years ago so I don’t see too much danger here.
Australia Squad for ICC 2019 World Cup:
Aaron Finch(C), Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey (VC/WK), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa.
ALSO READ: A guide to getting 2019 WC FREE live streaming
2019 World Cup Betting?
Fancy Australia at the 2019 World Cup?!
Bet on BetWinner: https://t.co/RXCWxeVNUq#Sports #SportsBetting #Betting #Online #Gambling #BetWinner #Cricket #CricketBetting #ICCWorldCup2019 #WorldCup2019 #WC2019 #Australia #Preview #Contest #Register #Affiliate #Follow #WorldCup #RT pic.twitter.com/KSOeqm3Rcm
— Read Scoops (@ReadScoops) May 21, 2019
The x-factor for Australia is Glenn Maxwell, someone who has matured as a cricketer in recent months. He skipped IPL 2019 to play the entire Royal London One Day Cup for Lancashire, where he scored plenty of runs and bagged several wickets including a 5-for in one game. Keep following ReadScoops.com to know Australia’s progress at the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup and whether they bring home a 6th World Cup trophy.
