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As the third Twenty20 World Cup approaches us, I take an in depth look into the Australian squad. Have the selectors got it right? Are they more focused on T20? What are their chances? I will attempt to answer these questions and more in this article.
Australia?s squad for the T20 World Cup: Michael Clarke (c), Daniel Christian, Brad Haddin (wk), Nathan Hauritz, David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Dirk Nannes, Tim Paine (wk), Steven Smith, Shaun Tait, David Warner, Shane Watson, Cameron White
The squad contains six T20I specialists, although some of those players have played ODI, they are currently penciled in as T20I only players. In comparison, the 2009 T20 World Cup squad contained only two T20I specialists in David Warner and David Hussey who are both present in the 2010 squad.
The overall makeup of the squad contains a good mixture of big hitters, accumulators, all rounders, pace, spin and experience. Brett Lee returns to allow the awesome foursome to terrorize batsmen from all parts of the globe. If the selectors will unleash this will depend largely on the form of Brett Lee, who currently is struggling to cut the mustard in the IPL and if they have faith in Steven Smith playing in the top 7 to provide the spin option.
In the big hitting department, we open up with Warner and Watson who challenge each other in the strike rate department. Then after Clarke we have proven T20 big hitters in David Hussey and the now more consistent and devastating Cameron White. Brad Haddin is also capable of giving the ball a good whack. Steven Smith, Johnson, Hauritz, Lee and Christian can also give the ball a good whack, providing real depth in the hitting department.
Accumulators aren?t as important in the shortest format as they are in the 50 over game but the squad contains two in Clarke and Mike Hussey. There are other players like White and David Hussey who have shown they can play this role as well. In the all-rounders department there are the genuine ones in Steven Smith, Daniel Christian and Shane Watson who have all played in the same lineup recently. █They are backed up by the part time bowling of Clarke and David Hussey along with the late order batting from Hauritz, Lee and Johnson.
It?s hard to predict what the selectors consider the best lineup to win the T20 World Cup. Most of the lineup picks itself, the number 7 and the bowling spot is the main ones up for grabs. There are a number of options for the number 7 spot: Steven Smith, Daniel Christian, Michael Hussey. A lot will depend on whether the selectors play Steven Smith at 8 or if they even play him at all. I would like to see Steven Smith at 7 because his batting is wasted at 8 and he will provide another bowling option for Clarke. Christian is a chance with his big hitting and medium fast bowling but his last few matches might have the selectors looking elsewhere. The last option is Mike Hussey who is yet to play a T20 match since the last World Cup. While his stats don?t say pick me, he has shown on numerous occasions in the 50 over game that he can steady the ship after a collapse or hit out.
There are a number of bowling combinations that the selectors could run with. The first thing they need to decide is whether they want the 4 prong pace attack. With that attack, Steven Smith at 7 would work perfectly. If they decided against that, then they have to decide on which spinner. They could play two if Steven Smith is at 7 but with Clarke and David Hussey capable of rolling their arm, this is unlikely. That leaves the four pacemen to fight over the remaining three spots. At present Johnson, Nannes and Tait have done a good job apart from their last T20I and Lee is struggling in the IPL. At his best Lee is one of the best T20 bowlers, Nannes would be the most likely to make way for Lee if he is deemed ready.
I am expecting the Australia selectors to go with the following lineup: David Warner, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke, David Hussey, Cameron White, Brad Haddin, Michael Hussey, Steven Smith, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, and Shaun Tait.
My ideal lineup would have Steven Smith at 7 (as you would expect from reading this article!) with Nannes into the fourth bowling spot. While either side looks good on paper, there are two weaknesses that I can see.
The first weakness is in the stability of the batting lineup. Like NSW, the side has depended a lot on David Warner, we have seen through the summer that once he goes the middle to lower order can be brittle as the T20I against Pakistan this summer showed. Should this occur during the T20 World Cup, the selectors have Mike Hussey who is renowned at steadying the ship.
The other weakness is the bowling attack, if the four man pace attack is unleashed, it could destroy opposition or it could leak runs like it did in the 2nd T20I against NZ. Tait is known to be wayward which places a lot of pressure on Nannes and Johnson to be accurate, something which both can struggle with at times. This is where the extra bowling options could come in handy for Clarke.
Overall the team looks good on paper with more focus placed on players that will do with in the T20 format rather than players that are currently in the Test and ODI setup. The team?s fortunes will rely heavily on how the big hitters and 150km/h pacemen go.
More...
Australia?s squad for the T20 World Cup: Michael Clarke (c), Daniel Christian, Brad Haddin (wk), Nathan Hauritz, David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Dirk Nannes, Tim Paine (wk), Steven Smith, Shaun Tait, David Warner, Shane Watson, Cameron White
The squad contains six T20I specialists, although some of those players have played ODI, they are currently penciled in as T20I only players. In comparison, the 2009 T20 World Cup squad contained only two T20I specialists in David Warner and David Hussey who are both present in the 2010 squad.
The overall makeup of the squad contains a good mixture of big hitters, accumulators, all rounders, pace, spin and experience. Brett Lee returns to allow the awesome foursome to terrorize batsmen from all parts of the globe. If the selectors will unleash this will depend largely on the form of Brett Lee, who currently is struggling to cut the mustard in the IPL and if they have faith in Steven Smith playing in the top 7 to provide the spin option.
In the big hitting department, we open up with Warner and Watson who challenge each other in the strike rate department. Then after Clarke we have proven T20 big hitters in David Hussey and the now more consistent and devastating Cameron White. Brad Haddin is also capable of giving the ball a good whack. Steven Smith, Johnson, Hauritz, Lee and Christian can also give the ball a good whack, providing real depth in the hitting department.
Accumulators aren?t as important in the shortest format as they are in the 50 over game but the squad contains two in Clarke and Mike Hussey. There are other players like White and David Hussey who have shown they can play this role as well. In the all-rounders department there are the genuine ones in Steven Smith, Daniel Christian and Shane Watson who have all played in the same lineup recently. █They are backed up by the part time bowling of Clarke and David Hussey along with the late order batting from Hauritz, Lee and Johnson.
It?s hard to predict what the selectors consider the best lineup to win the T20 World Cup. Most of the lineup picks itself, the number 7 and the bowling spot is the main ones up for grabs. There are a number of options for the number 7 spot: Steven Smith, Daniel Christian, Michael Hussey. A lot will depend on whether the selectors play Steven Smith at 8 or if they even play him at all. I would like to see Steven Smith at 7 because his batting is wasted at 8 and he will provide another bowling option for Clarke. Christian is a chance with his big hitting and medium fast bowling but his last few matches might have the selectors looking elsewhere. The last option is Mike Hussey who is yet to play a T20 match since the last World Cup. While his stats don?t say pick me, he has shown on numerous occasions in the 50 over game that he can steady the ship after a collapse or hit out.
There are a number of bowling combinations that the selectors could run with. The first thing they need to decide is whether they want the 4 prong pace attack. With that attack, Steven Smith at 7 would work perfectly. If they decided against that, then they have to decide on which spinner. They could play two if Steven Smith is at 7 but with Clarke and David Hussey capable of rolling their arm, this is unlikely. That leaves the four pacemen to fight over the remaining three spots. At present Johnson, Nannes and Tait have done a good job apart from their last T20I and Lee is struggling in the IPL. At his best Lee is one of the best T20 bowlers, Nannes would be the most likely to make way for Lee if he is deemed ready.
I am expecting the Australia selectors to go with the following lineup: David Warner, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke, David Hussey, Cameron White, Brad Haddin, Michael Hussey, Steven Smith, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, and Shaun Tait.
My ideal lineup would have Steven Smith at 7 (as you would expect from reading this article!) with Nannes into the fourth bowling spot. While either side looks good on paper, there are two weaknesses that I can see.
The first weakness is in the stability of the batting lineup. Like NSW, the side has depended a lot on David Warner, we have seen through the summer that once he goes the middle to lower order can be brittle as the T20I against Pakistan this summer showed. Should this occur during the T20 World Cup, the selectors have Mike Hussey who is renowned at steadying the ship.
The other weakness is the bowling attack, if the four man pace attack is unleashed, it could destroy opposition or it could leak runs like it did in the 2nd T20I against NZ. Tait is known to be wayward which places a lot of pressure on Nannes and Johnson to be accurate, something which both can struggle with at times. This is where the extra bowling options could come in handy for Clarke.
Overall the team looks good on paper with more focus placed on players that will do with in the T20 format rather than players that are currently in the Test and ODI setup. The team?s fortunes will rely heavily on how the big hitters and 150km/h pacemen go.
More...
