Australia: predators preparing to pounce while playing possum – ICC World Cup

If you believed the countless social media posts that claimed the Australians had deliberately flown under the radar after the second ODI against India in Indore last week, you might have come to that conclusion. Australia had just suffered its sixth consecutive defeat, and each one had been more devastating numerically.

To put things in perspective, Australia’s bowling assault that would go on to win them the World Cup had previously lost the legendary Chappell-Hadlee Trophy in early 2007. The starting eleven that will face India in their tournament opener at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on October 8 will be vastly different from the eleven that has been used for the past month or so owing to injuries and workload.

However, fans who aren’t from Australia have every right to be skeptical of these findings before a major event. When it comes to bringing home the bacon in the cricket world, Australia is unrivaled. It’s hardly surprising that the Australian national team considers nothing less than a World Cup victory to be a satisfactory outcome. It’s no surprise that they have more victories than any other squad.

Even though they were among the first teams to qualify for the semi-finals four years ago in England, Aaron Finch’s squad had a largely forgettable campaign. Particularly reliable were David Warner and Finch, as well as Alex Carey; with the ball, Mitchell Starc delivered another World Cup masterpiece.

Not having the ‘team to beat’ reputation that usually surrounds Australian teams in international competitions was a problem. Even though Pat Cummins is leading the Australian one-day cricket team into a new era, nine of the original 15 players from the 2019 England tour will be present in India. That suggests the team as a whole won’t be terribly shaken up by new faces. However, the Australians have had great success in the past when they stuck with what they knew would work.

Naturally, this World Cup is taking place at a pivotal juncture in the history and development of the One-Day International format of cricket. The worldwide trend of waning interest is seen in Australia as well. In line with the worldwide trend, the region previously considered to be the most fruitful for 50-over cricket has turned.

Now, ODIs are scheduled because they have to be, with no buzz or enthusiasm, whereas for decades the popular tri-series on Channel 9 (around the best time of the year in January and February) was typically the main event of the Australian cricket summer.

The three-game series that began in Adelaide, Australia, last year was a perfect example of this since it included the defending T20 World Cup champion English team.

This is hardly to suggest that Australia’s sixth World Cup victory would magically revive the popularity of one-day internationals in Australia. However, failure to do so will only serve to exacerbate the declining interest in 50-over cricket.