ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: Australia Team Performance Review in the tournament

You can never rule Australia out. Can you? After losing their first two matches of the ODI World Cup at the hands of India and South Africa, a lot of cricket pundits called them out and mentioned that their qualification race would be extremely difficult and this might be an end of an era for the likes of David Warner, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc and a few others. What followed next is something that all 90s kids have grown up watching - The Aussies dominating and the Aussies winning.

After winning seven straight matches in the league, Australia played South Africa in the semi-finals of the marquee tournament. The Proteas opted to bat first on a gloomy day, which the Pat Cummins-led side took full advantage of. Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood were breathing fire as South Africa faced massive turbulence in the opening first hour. However, David Miller took control of the situation but 212 runs was not enough to restrict Australia, who won by three wickets.

It was a tactical masterclass from Pat Cummins and the Australian management on the night of the finals against India. Even though Rohit Sharma gave a fiery start, the field placement against him was spot on. Also, many eyebrows were raised after Cummins decided to bowl first in Ahmedabad but he was once again right as the pitch got so much better to bat on under lights. 

Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne stitched a 192-run partnership in Ahmedabad, which eventually sealed Australia’s fate as six-time world champions. Other than the traditional batting and bowling, Australia were incredible on the field as well. In both the semifinal and final, the Kangaroos saved a lot of runs and that is one of the biggest reasons they ended up being the champions of ODI World Cup 2023.

The good, bad and the not so pretty

After a poor start to the tournament, Australia bounced back with a five-wicket win over Sri Lanka and that started their road to glory. However, with a few injuries here and there, they were on the back foot a couple of times but always managed to get over the line. Travis Head, who missed the first half of the tournament due to a fracture in his left hand, made his return against New Zealand and in the very first match, the southpaw hit a century and established his authority in the middle.

Against Afghanistan, Australia were 91/7 at one point and needed something extraordinary to win the match. Glenn Maxwell rose up to the occasion and played one of the best knocks in the history of cricket to help Australia win the match by three wickets. The 35-year-old played an innings that dropped a few jaws in the gallery scoring 201* off 128 on one foot with his body cramping like no tomorrow. However, the all-rounder decided not to leave the field, shot up pickle juice into his system and along with Pat Cummins, pulled off a miracle in Mumbai that no one thought was possible. Not even Maxwell or Cummins.

And then, there was the Travis Head show on the big night. Australia were 47/3 with the World Cup hanging in the balance and the Indian pacers on song. There was immense pressure as almost one lakh Indian supporters were cheering for the Men in Blue but yet so, Head didn’t lose his calm and hit 137 runs to help Australia win the tournament.

Steve Smith and Mitchell Starc’s form were the only two concerning factors at one point but with them winning all the matches, it didn’t hurt them as such.

The moments that mattered

Maxwell’s 201* against Afghanistan will forever be remembered by the ones who watched it. For people who missed it, a replay really just cannot justify the position Australia were in, under what circumstances Maxwell pulled it off, and also, how well Pat Cummins was during their partnership of 202 runs.

Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc’s bowling in the second semi-final was nothing short of a carnage. South African batters looked puzzled as they could do very little in the middle. The duo absolutely dominated the Temba Bavuma-led side and if it was not for David Miller, South Africa would have been out of the contest much sooner.

Travis Head’s knock on the night of the finals was nothing short of charismatic. He delivered again against India in a final which broke billions of hearts. The stage was set for India to lift the trophy but Australia proved why early celebrations are never a good idea.

Remember the name

The best part about Australia was their unity. Every other day someone was stepping up to get the job done. Be it David Warner against Pakistan and the Netherlands, Mitchell Marsh against Bangladesh or Marnus Labuschagne against England, there was always someone who got going.

Two players who were very consistent throughout the course of the tournament were Adam Zampa and Josh Hazlewood. The duo has played in India for a significant amount of time and hence, they are aware of the conditions. Warner too had a good season with the bat and hence, there are plenty of names that Australian cricket fans will remember after the World Cup.

Future fermentation

India and Australia are two teams that have always focused on their youth in every format. Even though Cameron Green barely got an opportunity to represent Australia in the World Cup, he is deemed to be a future superstar. He is already a part of the system and hence, understands how Australia function in big games, which will come in handy for the national team in the coming years. Especially, with no guarantees when senior cricketers like Warner, Smith, Maxwell or Marsh announce their retirement from ODI cricket.

Coming of age

Just like Cameron Green, there are other players in the Aussie set-up who can be a future match-winner. Tim David, Aaron Hardie and Tanveer Sangha can soon be regulars in the ODI format and that’s a good sign. Coming to the 50-over format, Australia will now focus on the Champions Trophy in 2025, where a lot more youngster cricketers can be seen.