Australia at the 2023 Cricket World Cup: Team Preview

No matter what kind of bilateral form Australia are heading into an ICC tournament with, once in, they are always a force to reckon, particularly in the ODI format. Their two most-recent ODI series against South Africa and India resulted in defeats. Their squad contains only one full-time spinner. Travis Head won’t be available till mid-way into the tournament. A lot of things are not ideal. Yet, this is Australia, five-time World Cup winners. Count them out at your own risk.

Australia’s ODI World Cup history

Easily the most decorated side in World Cup history, Australia boast of a whopping five men’s ODI World Cup titles. No other team has more than two. In World Cups played in the subcontinent, Australia have suffered contrasting fortunes. In 1987, they emerged victorious. They lost the final in 1996 and were eliminated in the quarter final in 2011. While not in the best of forms currently, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if they manage to snatch their sixth title in 2023.

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Australia at the 2023 Cricket World Cup: Full squad

Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith, Alex Carey (wk), Josh Inglis (wk), Sean Abbott, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc

Captain: Pat Cummins

Coach: Andrew McDonald

Wisden Cricket Monthly’s Most Valuable Player: Adam Zampa

Australia’s prolific pace triumvirate tend to grab the attention but Zampa has quietly compiled a formidable ODI record. Since the conclusion of the 2019 World Cup, the leggie has claimed 66 wickets in 31 matches at 20.69 with an economy of under five – a record unmatched by any spinner featuring in this tournament. A match-winning haul of 4-45 at Chennai in March to seal an ODI series win over their hosts demonstrated just how important Zampa will be to his team’s chances in India.

Players to watch: Mitchell Starc

The rage at the moment is Pakistan’s Shaheen Shah Afridi. Tall, lithe, lean, Shaheen flows to the crease, bowls left-arm over the wicket at searing velocity, bends the ball back into right-handers. Pitched full, gleaming under lights, a new white Kookaburra ball swerves in the air before smashing into pads or stumps. His knack is doing this in the first over of a match, often first ball. Plenty of times a second wicket follows moments later.

The thing is, that whole paragraph is also Mitchell Starc. Every word. It is what he’s always been as a cricketer, starting in 2010 when Shaheen was 10 years old.

Read the piece on Mitchell Starc in issue 71 of the Wisden Cricket Monthly here.

Australia at the 2023 Cricket World Cup: Predicted XI

Mitchell Marsh, David Warner, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa.

Australia at the 2023 Cricket World Cup: Full fixtures list

Sunday, October 8: India v Australia (Chennai), 2 pm
Thursday, October 12: Australia v South Africa (Lucknow), 2 pm
Monday, October 16: Australia v Sri Lanka (Lucknow), 2 pm
Friday, October 20: Australia v Pakistan (Bengaluru), 2 pm
Wednesday, October 25: Australia v Netherlands (Delhi), 2 pm
Saturday, October 28: Australia v New Zealand (Dharamasala), 10:30 am
Saturday, November 4: England v Australia (Ahmedabad), 2 pm
Tuesday, November 7: Australia v Afghanistan (Mumbai), 2 pm
Saturday, November 11: Australia v Bangladesh (Pune), 10:30 am

A full preview of the 2023 World Cup appears in issue 71 of Wisden Cricket Monthly.