Australia’s sudden revival in ODI cricket has given the men from down under newfound belief in their ability to extend the country’s record as the tournament’s most successful side.
After they secured back-to-back ODI series wins in Asia in early 2019, the squad, which is still without Steve Smith and David Warner, look to be in good shape to compete for a place in the semi-finals.
Worryingly for anyone looking for patterns, omens or the generally superstitious, the Proteas final round-robin game will be against Australia at Old Trafford. That match could go a long way towards determining who makes it into the knockout stages and will be a contest the Proteas will want to win.
A few months ago that prospect might have seemed far more straightforward as Australia’s top order struggled to find their rhythm despite some very good bowling displays at times.
The current upsurge in form has been driven by a return to form for ODI skipper Aaron Finch as well as Usman Khawaja finding his feet in a format he has struggled with for some time.
Much like South Africa, the Australian game also depends on bringing their best bullying tactics from Test cricket into the white-ball arena. Pat Cummins has brought fire and aggression to Australia’s new-ball bowling and has been well complemented by the likes of Nathan Coulter-Nile and Jhye Richardson.
Such is the form of the Aussie quicks that the returning Josh Hazlewood might not even get the luxury of being an automatic pick for the World Cup squad.
Glenn Maxwell has been at the heart of the Australian series win in Pakistan and he is a player who will need to be at his best if the defending champions are going to hold onto the trophy. Maxwell has a decent record in England, but he is the kind of player that can produce a match-turning display at just the right moment.
Australia has looked like a team with all the right ingredients, but the wrong balance. Justin Langer, though, may have hit on a winning formula in the nick of time.
The big question will be whether the return of Warner and Smith will be a boon to the unit or the bane of Langer’s World Cup ambitions. On the surface, the batting talent of both adds so much that their inclusion is a no-brainer, but their reintegration might not run as smoothly as planned.
The balance that now looks to have been found could well be thrown off, but with no time at all to play with Langer is likely to trust his gut and bring back the disgraced big guns for a World Cup push.
Australia returning to form just before a World Cup has a familiar feel to it, but they won’t face a simple task at all.
Written by @JonhenryWilson
