The Men from down under - Australia
As promised I start with the team I least favor to win this world cup which also happens to be the team which is going into the world cup with the worst form possible. Yes as the title of this post says I am talking about Australia, the 2 time defending champions.
Till a few months people were raving about how good a team Australia is and how easily they will win a 3rd world cup. But then things have changed, defeat in the CB series to a toothless English team and then the blackwash at the hands of the Kiwis has caused a complete turnaround in their fortunes and they have even lost their No.1 ranking to the Proteas. Injuries to Andrew Symonds,and Brett Lee was cited as the reason for their pathetic performance, but hey wasn't Australia the team which did not depend on individuals, or did I hear wrongly?
Be as it may the truth is that Australia is no longer invincible and their weaknesses have been ruthlessly exposed in recent months. Being anti-aussie myself, this comes as something to rejoice about.
Why I think Australia will not win the world cup:
Number 1: Too many frequent changes to the team has caused a lack of stability within the team.
Number 2: Inexperienced and ineffective bowling attack further setback by the injury to Lee. McGrath is no longer the bowler he was, the rookies in Tait and Johnson are way too inconsistent and unreliable, Bracken,Watson, and Clark are inconsistent performers, Hogg is the only spin option and he is not at his best. All in all an attack which is likely to concede a lot of big scores.
Number 3: Batting is dependent on Ponting and Hussey who are the two consistent batsmen. Pressure is on Ponting to deliver and he is just returning from injury which does not help his cause.
Number 4: Ponting is a poor captain under pressure, anybody can lead a team when they are doing well but it is when the team is doing badly that a good captain makes the difference. Ponting is definitely not a captain of that quality.
Number 5: The format of this world cup does not allow easy routes into the super 8, so Australia cannot take time to peak like in 1999.
Last Word: If Australia loses the cup then Cricket will be the winner.
Till a few months people were raving about how good a team Australia is and how easily they will win a 3rd world cup. But then things have changed, defeat in the CB series to a toothless English team and then the blackwash at the hands of the Kiwis has caused a complete turnaround in their fortunes and they have even lost their No.1 ranking to the Proteas. Injuries to Andrew Symonds,and Brett Lee was cited as the reason for their pathetic performance, but hey wasn't Australia the team which did not depend on individuals, or did I hear wrongly?
Be as it may the truth is that Australia is no longer invincible and their weaknesses have been ruthlessly exposed in recent months. Being anti-aussie myself, this comes as something to rejoice about.
Why I think Australia will not win the world cup:
Number 1: Too many frequent changes to the team has caused a lack of stability within the team.
Number 2: Inexperienced and ineffective bowling attack further setback by the injury to Lee. McGrath is no longer the bowler he was, the rookies in Tait and Johnson are way too inconsistent and unreliable, Bracken,Watson, and Clark are inconsistent performers, Hogg is the only spin option and he is not at his best. All in all an attack which is likely to concede a lot of big scores.
Number 3: Batting is dependent on Ponting and Hussey who are the two consistent batsmen. Pressure is on Ponting to deliver and he is just returning from injury which does not help his cause.
Number 4: Ponting is a poor captain under pressure, anybody can lead a team when they are doing well but it is when the team is doing badly that a good captain makes the difference. Ponting is definitely not a captain of that quality.
Number 5: The format of this world cup does not allow easy routes into the super 8, so Australia cannot take time to peak like in 1999.
Last Word: If Australia loses the cup then Cricket will be the winner.
posted by Raj at 5:48 pm
2 Comments:
How much ever I hate Australia I would still be cautious before saying such harsh words. I still think they would be the 3rd favorite to win the WC after South Africa and Newzealand. They mite seem a bit wayward now but they can come back really strong. Analzying thr players Apart from Ponting and Hussey even Hayden is in good form if he plays and like the way Hodge plays he is capable of being a good match winner. But in the bowling dept there are few concerns i still think Bracken is very good for the shorter version of the game and Johnson can do a good job as well. Tait can bowl at high speeds but his line and length are not so great. Yeah they lack in spin bowling dept but I guess symonds ,clark and Hogg will some how makeup for it if the pacers do a good job in the beginning but if it omes down to a stage where a good team like SA and NZ or even India are say 150/2 and if the spinners are bowling they are going to be bludgeoned. But I wouldn still count Aussies totally out no matter how unsettled they may seem. I hope I am made to eat my words. :)
Good for people to know.
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