FaaipDeOiad said:
Really shows the class that's present in the Australian ODI side right now. While Australia have lost quite a few matches when experimenting recently, a side including all of Gilchrist, Ponting, Symonds, Clarke, Hussey, Hogg, Lee, Bracken and McGrath would be tremendously hard to beat, and no other side can boast 9 genuinely high class ODI players. Australia should be strong favourites come the world cup with that lineup, even though the ODI field is the most even it has been in some time.
On the Malaysian tri series thread I noticed that someone mentioned that Australia are the most brittle side that they have been in a long time. Now, perhaps our rotation of players, we have probably used around 30 players in the last 12-18 months, has clouded judgement a little as we have dropped quite a few games including a couple of large run chases that we shouldn’t have albeit on roads in South Africa and postage stamps in New Zealand.
If you look at our team from the last world cup final;
+Gilchrist, Hayden, Ponting, Martyn, Lehmann, Bevan, Symonds, Hogg, Bichel, Lee, McGrath
And compare it to what we will be looking at come next year;
+Gilchrist, XXXXX, Ponting, Clarke, Symonds, Hussey, Watson, Hogg, Lee, Bracken, McGrath
Top Order – Slightly weaker. Gilchrist’s average surprisingly has incrementally increased, save for his ordinary tour to NZ late last year, a couple of notches since the last world cup and he has a career high average and strike rate. Test form exaggerates his downfall when adjudging his contribution to the ODI side. That said, the great man is growing weary, and I think he will be down on his best by the time the WC comes around. The 2003 world cup was the height of Hayden’s ODI career with an average hovering around 45 and while the opening position for next year’s world cup is wide open it’s hard to see Hayden recapturing that form, Katich will never get anywhere near it and the other options, Jaques and Cosgrove, would find it very difficult to get to that kind of level by the world cup. Ponting’s test average has shot up over the last 4 years but his ODI form has remained steady, maybe he is a slightly improved ODI batsman with his ability to consistently go on and make big scores after a start.
Middle Order – Slightly stronger. The big thing to remember here is that Symonds went into the last World Cup with his career hanging by a thread. At the time he was averaging 23 with the bat, after 54 one day internationals, and I remember actually tipping him in a WC competition to score the most runs in that game against Pakistan as a joke. Michael Clarke is a slightly more accomplished batsman than Damien Martyn at the same stage. Lehmann and Symonds very close statistically, I think Symonds’ explosiveness gives him the duel on points, and Hussey v. Bevan has been debated quite a bit recently. Bevan has the runs on the board, Hussey again more explosive with a stike rate of 98.94 to Bevan’s 74.16.
Bowling – Slightly stronger. Lee’s maturing as a strike bowler covers the perceived drop off in McGrath’s wicket taking ability. Bracken has Bichel on toast (41 matches, 71 wickets @ 20.69 v. 67 matches, 78 wickets @ 31.58). Hogg is a savvier bowler with 4 years of international cricket under his belt and Watson is a better 5th bowling alternative to Symonds.
As an aside, since the one day series preceding the Ashes last year, Australia have used the following players:
Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark, Michael Clarke, Mark Cosgrove, Dan Cullen, Brett Dorey, Brad Haddin, Brad Hodge, Brad Hogg, Adam Gilchrist, Jason Gillespie, Matthew Hayden, James Hopes, Michael Hussey, Phil Jaques, Mitchell Johnson, Michael Kasprowicz, Simon Katich, Brett Lee, Mick Lewis, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath, Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds, Shane Watson, Cameron White
So in the space of 39 one day internationals there have been 26 players pull on the green and gold. Quite an extraordinary turnover even if some were more successful than others.