Former captain Aaron Finch spoke with ICC before of Australia‘s World Cup 2023 matchup against New Zealand, discussing the team’s prospects of winning and the lineup they should use.
I asked Australia to play more aggressively in my previous essay. It’s safe to assume that they have succeeded after three spin victories and consecutive scores of more than 350.
They have demonstrated greater vigor while using the bat and ball, and when you do that, fielding follows suit. Glenn Maxwell is a player who seldom has too many issues playing aggressively, and his performance against the Netherlands is among his best.
It was incredible, downright cruel at times, and much more amazing to witness in person. He made some impressive plays with the ball. It is challenging enough to bat right-handed, never mind trying to play those reverse shots against the quicks with your left hand.
I didn’t believe Aiden Markram‘s 49-ball century earlier in the tournament would be topped, but Maxi destroyed it.
Naturally, he has a great deal of natural talent with his hands, but it’s amazing how much work and dedication he puts in. Every training session, you’ll witness him practicing those reverse sweeps and switch-hits against the spin, but it’s really amazing how he can apply them against quick bowlers.
It takes pure genius to time when to use that shot and place the field placements where you want them. On his day, he is one of the best players in the world. Adam Zampa is also playing fantastically well and is becoming better and better at what he does.
The world’s best players are unable to stop him because of the incredible diversity of deliveries he makes, which is a really positive indicator. He plays such a great middle oversetter.
As a character, Adam Zampa is quite laid back and doesn’t take things too seriously. He has a different outlook on life than many other individuals. He maintains his composure while also being a very straightforward person. He’s a great guy to have on your squad and in your team.
Australia will now face a challenging stretch of matches, beginning on Saturday in Dharamshala against New Zealand. Up until now, New Zealand has consistently performed as one would expect from them.
Even with Kane Williamson’s injury, they have a lot of alternatives and are hitting well. They seem unfazed by that, which is a sign of a really good team.
They weren’t that far from India on Sunday, and I don’t think their loss will have a significant impact on them. I anticipate a close game on Saturday because they are a top-notch club that never gives up and are very difficult to defeat.
In the power struggle, Australia has the upper hand, but their middle order hasn’t been performing up to par. They have had some pretty strong positions thus far in this World Cup, but they haven’t been able to take full advantage of them. That may seem absurd given the scores of 367 and 399, but certain significant collaborations may have allowed for higher results.
Nevertheless, considering the past World Cup encounters between Australia and New Zealand, I believe Australia has a slight advantage.
With Travis Head back, there will probably be a reorganization at the top of the order, and it will be interesting to watch how they handle it.
Given Steve Smith’s amazing record at number three, Australia will be debating whether Mitchell Marsh should go to number three or number four. The “last man in, first man out” theory leads me to believe that Marnus Labuschagne will be the one to leave. Australia should be happy that Smith scored runs in the most recent game. The only problem I can see is that Mitchell Marsh, who starts against spin with four men out, may not be as effective at rotating the strike as some of the other players in the middle order. I predict they’ll assign him a score of three and ask him to play that powerplay with a lot of positivity.
Undoubtedly, Marnus will feel unfairly treated, but that’s the nature of competition cricket. We’ve seen how crucial Travis Head’s ability to steal the game away from teams during their powerplay is in this competition. These two sides have a great deal of respect for one another, and their World Cup matches have been memorable in the past.
The 2015 final, one of the more recent ones, was an amazing experience. It was an amazing experience to perform for such an occasion in front of 96,000 fans at the MCG, and the day couldn’t have been more perfect.
The first over that Mitchell Starc gave to McCullum, knocking him down to start the game, is the memory that keeps coming back to me and a lot of other people. It was another matter entirely to acquire a player such as Brendon, who dominated teams during the powerplay and was a fireball throughout that World Cup. It made for an incredible day that I will never forget.
India
