The Hindu : Sport : Australia will need a winning start

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Saturday, Mar 10, 2007
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Australia will need a winning start

Nandita Sridhar

A bigger risk than putting all your money on the Aussies would be writing them off

WILL HE PLAY OR NOT? The uncertainty over Andrew Symonds's fitness is probably causing a few worries for Ricky Ponting while the rivals would be thanking their stars for the lucky break. — Photo: AFP

Without meaning to do so, the Aussies have injected life into what would have been a World Cup leading to a predictable conclusion. Australia's losses in the CB series finals and the Chappell-Hadlee series have dared other teams into doubting the World Champions' invincibility, never mind that it took an Aussie slump to pull them out of their self-doubts.

But teams cannot expect the same show of bowling incompetence from the Aussies in the World Cup. If it was hard enough to beat the all-conquering Aussies, it might be worse facing a bunch with a battered ego.

Having Ricky Ponting back at the helm is a welcome relief for the team and Michael Hussey. Ponting is far more at ease with the mantle, and will not go the demoralised Hussey way. For one, he wasn't part of the team that went to New Zealand, and secondly, losing two one-day series is half a setback when compared to the near-infamy of losing the 2005 Ashes series, something that further toughened his men.

No illusions

But the 32-year-old will not harbour illusions about his team being the overwhelming favourite. For the first time in years teams have started talking about a beatable Australian one-day team. And for the first time, teams don't sound deluded.

Australia's progress in the tournament will depend on how Ponting performs with the bat, how Adam Gilchrist fires up the order and how Hussey further fattens his run basket. A tournament as expanded as this one, gives teams enough time to experiment with their compositions in the group stages. Group games are the perfect platform for bowling and batting redemption.

Toe permitting, Matthew Hayden should ably assist Gilchrist at the top, which should give way for Ponting, Michael Clarke, Hussey and if fit, Andrew Symonds to take care of the remaining overs.

As is the case with most teams in this World Cup, the bowling looks a little flat when compared to the batting. On paper, the relatively inexperienced bowling attack doesn't fit the prototype of Aussie intimidation and aura. Finding the right bowlers for the slog overs will be Ponting's biggest concern.

McGrath's accuracy and Brett Lee's toe-crushers would have made for ideal death-over bowling, but Lee's absence shifts the responsibility to Shaun Tait. Tait's sustenance defies his action. His shoulder-reliant action puts enormous pressure on it, but he can skid the ball. Left-armer Nathan Bracken should provide variety, with Stuart Clark and Shane Watson making it a reasonably potent attack when bowling first.

Role of spinners

With captains predicting a more pronounced role for spinners, Brad Hogg will be crucial, provided he solves his baffling wicket-less run. Brad Hodge's right-arm off-breaks and Clark's left-arm spinners could prove tricky on helpful pitches. Symonds's fielding which had played a huge part in his subsequent success with the bat and the ball will depend on his bicep injury healing.

As a team, Australia will need a winning start. Unlike the ruthless 1999 team under Steve Waugh, which could brush off early losses, this team will have to beat South Africa in the Group stage. The best way to dent the Australians' already dented confidence would be to stop the team early. Nothing gets the Aussies going like momentum and the pressure games.

The last three of their biggest tournament wins (`99 & 2003 World Cups and the 2006 Champions Trophy) have been big-margin ones. In the crunch matches, they have been known to crush opponents. As we have seen in the past, Australians fight because that's just how they are, which makes it so hard to discount their chances. A bigger risk than putting all your money on the Aussies would be writing them off.

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