GameDay Squad Cricket Match Preview: Australia come up against the Netherlands in the 24th match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in Delhi on the 25th of October.
Australia played Pakistan in their fourth match of the CWC, and Australia won by 62 runs. Pakistan won the toss and elected to field first and it may have been the incorrect decision. The Pakistan bowlers missed their line and length early and Australia made them pay. Warner and Marsh were superb and took the score through to 259 before Marsh was dismissed in the 34th over. Australia didn’t make the most of their great start and only managed to score 108 runs in their remaining 16 overs. They made it through to 367/9 at the end of 50 overs when it looked like they were on target for 400+. The Australian bowlers were under pressure early and the Pakistan openers made it through to 134 in the 22nd over before Shafique was dismissed. The match was still anyone’s to take until Shakeel was the fourth batsmen dismissed in the 35th over with the score at 232. Australia then took control of the match and took the remaining six Pakistan wickets for 36 runs.
The top performers in GDS for Australia were.
David Warner – 211 points
Mitchell Marsh – 165 points
Adam Zampa – 105 points
Marcus Stoinis – 79 points
Pat Cummins – 76 points
Netherlands played Sri Lanka in their fourth match of the CWC, and Sri Lanka won by 5 wickets. Netherlands won the toss and elected to bat first. They weren’t off to a great start and lost the wicket of Singh in the 4th over with the score at 7. The Dutch batsmen were unable to get going and Sri Lanka had them in all sorts of trouble in the 22nd over with the score at 91/6. They then dug in with Engelbrecht and van Beek at the crease and they took the score through to 221 before Engelbrecht was dismissed in the 46th over. The Netherlands ended up posting a respectable total of 262 at the end of their 50 overs when it looked like they may not make it past 200 at one stage. The Netherlands were off to a good start with the ball and van Meekeren dismissed Perera in the 5th over with the score at 18. Shortly after, Mendis fell to Dutt and it was starting to look like the Netherlands were starting to get on top. However, Sri Lanka were able to form some solid partnerships and made it through to the target of 263 in the 49th over, only losing five wickets along the way.
The top performers in GDS for Netherlands were.
Aryan Dutt – 110 points
Logan van Beek – 106 points
Sybrand Engelbrecht – 84 points
Colin Ackermann – 79 points
Paul van Meekeren – 74 points
Arun Jaitley Stadium and Pitch Information
The pitches at Arun Jaitley Stadium have recently been re-laid, they have used black soil to create surfaces expected to offer more bounce and favorable conditions for fast bowlers. This might be the case but the pitches at this stadium have offered up plenty of runs so far this CWC. This will be the fourth match in the CWC played here. Twice has the team batting first won the match. In all six innings we have seen 200+ runs be scored and I’m expecting a 300+ score from Australia if they bat first.
Australia vs Netherlands predicted XIs
Australia: David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa
Netherlands: Vikramjit Singh, Max O'Dowd, Colin Ackermann, Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Scott Edwards, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Roelof van der Merwe, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt and Paul van Meekeren
Who to play in your GDS starting XI
Batters
The three batters that I am likely going to start will be David Warner, Steve Smith and Max O’Dowd. Over the CWC these batters average the following points in GDS.
David Warner – 83 points
Steve Smith – 21 points
Max O’Dowd – 16 points
In GDS there are four players combined from Australia and Netherlands that have the batter position designation. Three of these four players are predicted to play, two from Australia and one from Netherlands. This is the easiest selection process I’ve been faced with in the CWC as all the predicted to play batters need to start in your GDS squad. If Travis Head is a late inclusion to the Australia team, I’ll be bringing him in and dropping O’Dowd.
All-Rounders
The four all-rounders that I am likely going to start will be Glenn Maxwell, Colin Ackermann, Bas de Leede and Logan van Beek. Over the CWC these all-rounders average the following points in GDS.
Glenn Maxwell – 60 points
Colin Ackermann – 79 points
Bas de Leede – 90 points
Logan van Beek – 96 points
In GDS there are thirteen players combined from Australia and Netherlands that have the all-rounder position designation. Ten of these thirteen players are predicted to play, three from Australia and seven from Netherlands. I think picking the starting all-rounders is the hardest part of setting your squad for this match. I tend to favour all-rounders that bowl more as they generally score higher due to dot balls being worth one point in GDS. I think the Netherlands all-rounders will have more of a role to play in the match. Ackermaan and de Leede both bat inside the top four and are likely to bowl 5+ overs each. Van Beek has put three great performances together this CWC, some with the ball and some with the bat. The fourth all-rounder spot for me goes to Maxwell. Only because I think he will bowl a few overs in this match going by how successful the Afghanistan spinners were against the English. Marsh is a notable omission from my side after his superb performance against Pakistan. If Australia bat first, he may be a late inclusion and replace Maxwell.
If you don’t have the suggested four players in your squad, I have ranked the remaining all-rounders for Australia and Netherlands in the following order. Mitchell Marsh, Roelof van der Merwe, Marcus Stoinis, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Vikramjit Singh and Teja Nidamanuru.
Bowlers
The three bowlers that I am likely going to start will be Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa and Aryan Dutt. Over the CWC these bowlers average the following points in GDS.
Mitchell Starc – 79 points
Adam Zampa – 76 points
Aryan Dutt – 90 points
In GDS there are eight players combined from Australia and Netherlands that have the bowler position designation. Six of these eight players are predicted to play, four from Australia and two from Netherlands. Starc has been having a good CWC and has picked up wickets in every game so far. I think the Dutch top order may struggle with his pace and we may see him take a couple of wickets early. After a slow start to the CWC, Zampa has had back-to-back four wicket hauls and I’m expecting him to put in a strong performance again. Between these two teams, Dutt has been the best bowler in GDS. He has bowled his full complement of overs in three of his four matches, and he quite often opens the bowling with his offbreaks. We have seen the Australia struggle at times against spin in this tournament and Dutt may cause the Australian batsmen some problems.
If you don’t have the suggested three players in your squad, I have ranked the remaining bowlers for Australia and Netherlands in the following order. Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Paul van Meekeren.
Wicket Keeper
The wicket keeper that I am likely going to start will be Scott Edwards. Over the CWC these wicket keepers average the following points in GDS.
Scott Edwards – 60 points
Josh Inglis – 42 points
Edwards has been the better keeper in GDS between himself and Inglis this CWC. He has had a hand in more dismissals than Inglis and is likely to be required to feature more with the bat. If Australia bat first, I might pivot and start Inglis instead.