Is it too early to draw comparisons to 1999? Do we dare?
Australia has lost two of their first three World Cup matches in India, just as they did during the unforgettable 1999 tournament in England.
Adam Gilchrist was struggling at the top, Shane Warne was far from his best, and Steve Waugh’s Australians, whose lone victory was against one of the tournament’s qualifiers, needed everything to go their way to reach the semi-finals.
Pat Cummins’ men find themselves in a similar predicament.
“It feels a bit like 1999 with the backs to the wall,” former Australian all-rounder Brendon Julian, a member of the 1999 World Cup squad, told Fox Cricket this week.
“When there’s nothing to lose, and they’re getting to that situation now … that’s when the side focuses.”
Watch every match of The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Live with no ad breaks in play on Kayo Sports. Join Kayo now and start streaming instantly >
David Warner and Steve Smith, Australia’s two most experienced batters, are yet to reach fifty in the tournament, along with the dangerous Glenn Maxwell. All three of them, including fellow 2015 champion Mitchell Starc, almost certainly won’t feature in the 2027 World Cup in South Africa.
“You need your big players to stand up,” Julian continued.
“In 1999, it was Steve Waugh against South Africa that got us into the semis, it was Shane Warne in that semi when we were done and dusted.
“There are moments in this World Cup where you’ll need your big players to do that.
“There’s a lot of guys in that side that will never play another World Cup again, they’ll retire, so they’ll need to make the most of it.”
Form, fitness and rotten luck have plagued Australia’s middle order during the opening rounds of this year’s World Cup, but the team’s batting woes began well before the tournament kicked off earlier this month.
Australia has relied heavily on its openers over the last 12 months, with Warner and Travis Head scoring the bulk of the team’s runs during bilateral ODI series against England, South Africa and India. Head’s untimely wrist injury forced Australia to test the depth of its middle order, and the results were less than reassuring.
Only one Australian middle-order player has scored an ODI century this year, being Marnus Labuschagne in Bloemfontein, compared to seven hundreds for the Proteas. Australia’s middle-order has averaged 23.83 in ODIs this year, the second-worst figure among competing World Cup nations.
“The batting in the middle order’s been horrible, it’s hard to believe,” Julian said.
“That’s not good enough. You can’t go into a game with your middle order not firing, and that’s been an issue for us.
“We’re so far off the mark in the middle, something needs to fire.”
Middle-order batting average for ODIs in 2023
44.51 – South Africa
40.26 – Pakistan
38.61 – India
38.24 – New Zealand
34.91 – England
33.46 – Bangladesh
32.02 – Netherlands
29.86 – Sri Lanka
23.83 – Australia
21.71 – Afghanistan
Every member of Australia’s middle order is either searching for form or recovering from a long-term injury. Maxwell is still feeling the effects of last summer’s gruesome leg break, while Marcus Stoinis’ recent struggles in the 50-over format are well documented.
Meanwhile, Cameron Green and Alex Carey were axed from the starting XI after forgettable performances during the tournament opener against India.
“We haven‘t been able to navigate through the middle as well as what we’d like,” Australian coach Andrew McDonald confessed after last week’s loss to South Africa.
“We‘ve probably relied on top order starts to get the big total we require.”
In the opening three rounds of the World Cup, Australia has the least number of half-centuries, the lowest strike rate, the least number of sixes, and the lowest batting average.
The Australians came up against a world-class Indian spin attack in tricky conditions in Chennai, but their collapse against South Africa in Chennai was less forgivable. The middle order couldn’t stem the flow of wickets, gifting away soft dismissals when the team needed stability.
“They haven’t seized the opportunity or summed up the game well enough,” Julian continued.
“Against India they only needed 240-250 to win, and they were trying to get to 300.
“They were hoping Marnus was able to do it, but Marnus can’t do that on his own, neither can Steve Smith.
“There doesn’t seem to be a decent enough plan, summing up what needs to be done at a certain time. That’s what it’s all about.”
To boost Australia’s batting credentials in the middle, Josh Inglis was parachuted into the starting XI at the expense of incumbent gloveman Carey. It was a radical and unprecedented selection call, which ultimately paid dividends when Inglis steered Australia towards a five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka on Monday.
“Something had to give, so they’ve said well let’s try Inglis,” Julian continued.
“That surprised me, but you can’t suddenly get Alex Carey back in. He’s gone. He won’t play the rest of the tournament. You’ve got to give Inglis a decent crack at it.”
Runs per over during 2023 World Cup
6.62 – South Africa
6.60 – New Zealand
6.35 – Sri Lanka
6.23 – India
6.12 – England
5.86 – Pakistan
5.19 – Afghanistan
5.15 – Netherlands
4.73 – Bangladesh
4.70 – Australia
READ MORE
WC TALKING POINTS: Aussie X-factor awoken in stunning spell
‘PRETTY SORE’: Aussies dealt yet another frustrating injury setback
There were signs of improvement during the tense victory over Sri Lanka. Labuschagne and Inglis combined for a 77-run partnership for the fourth wicket to prevent another collapse, while Maxwell and Stoinis looked in vintage touch during their cameos with the bat.
However, Australia will need every member of the middle order firing for the five-time champions to have any chance of repeating the miracle of 1999.
Australia will next face Pakistan at Bangalore’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday, with the first ball scheduled for 7.30pm AEDT. Every ball of every World Cup game is live and ad-break-free during play to stream on Kayo Sports and Foxtel.