The first CWC was in 1975 and now the 13th edition of the tournament is upon us. Australia are no strangers to CWC glory and have appeared in seven finals, winning five of them. I believe they have the squad to make their eighth final and they are one of the favorites to win the tournament in my opinion. Get the inside scoop on Australia's Cricket Squad for the upcoming GameDay Squad competition with an in-depth analysis and preview. Find out who to watch out for!
Squad
Sean Abbott – All-rounder
Alex Carey – Wicket-keeper
Pat Cummins – Bowler
Cameron Green – All-rounder
Josh Hazlewood – Bowler
Travis Head – Batter
Josh Inglis – Wicket-keeper
Mitchell Marsh – All-rounder
Glenn Maxwell – All-rounder
Steve Smith – Batter
Mitchell Starc – Bowler
Marcus Stoinis – All-rounder
David Warner – Batter
Adam Zampa – Bowler
Batters
Australia goes into the tournament with three players that have a batter position designation in GDS. When applying the GDS scoring to their stats over the last ten games played, I’ve come up with the following fantasy point averages for the batters.
Travis Head – 71 points
Steve Smith – 49 points
David Warner – 59 points
Looking at the recent form of these batters, only Head really catches my eye. However, I honestly don’t think he will play many matches. Over his last ten ODIs he’s scored one 100, three 50s, three 30+ scores and three scores of less than 19 runs. I have Smith and Warner ranked above Head as I think they will be starting most matches. Over Smith’s last ten ODIs he’s scored three 50s, two 30+ scores and four scores of less than 22, including two ducks. Over Warner’s last ten ODIs he’s scored one 100, four 50s, one 30+ score and four scores of less than 23, including one duck.
Bowlers
Australia goes into the tournament with four players that have a bowler position designation in GDS. When applying the GDS scoring to their stats over the last ten games played, I’ve come up with the following fantasy point averages for the bowlers.
Pat Cummins – 86 points
Josh Hazlewood – 79 points
Mitchell Starc – 90 points
Adam Zampa – 62 points
Cummins, Hazlewood and Starc are the seam bowlers with Zampa being the only spinner. With the CWC being held in India, I thought Australia may have taken a second spinner. I guess they will use Maxwell a fair bit in most games. Over Cummins’s last ten ODIs he has bowled 80 overs, taken 18 wickets and averages 3.6 dot balls an over. Over Hazlewood’s last ten ODIs he has bowled 86 overs, taken 15 wickets and averages 3.5 dot balls an over. Over Starc’s last ten ODIs he has bowled 87 overs, taken 21 wickets and averages 3.5 dot balls an over. Over Zampa’s last ten ODIs he has bowled 85 overs, taken 15 wickets and averages 2.5 dot balls an over. Starc is the pick of the Australian bowlers for me, and I’ll likely be starting him in most matches. Cummins, Hazlewood and Zampa should all do a decent job for you each match, it really depends on what sort of pitch Australia are playing on and who the opposition is.
All-rounders
Australia doesn’t have as many all-rounders as other teams and head into the tournament with five players that have the all-rounder position designation in GDS. Abbott, Green, Maxwell and Stoinis are the bowling all-rounders and Marsh is the only batting all-arounder. When applying the GDS scoring to their stats over the last ten games played, I’ve come up with the following fantasy point averages for the all-rounders.
Sean Abbott – 72 points
Cameron Green – 53 points
Mitchell Marsh – 47 points
Glenn Maxwell – 62 points
Marcus Stoinis – 52 points
When choosing which all-rounder to play in your squad it really depends on where Australia is playing, who their opposition is and the pitch conditions. I think Marsh, Maxwell and Stoinis will be the all-rounders that start in most matches. Over Marsh’s last ten ODIs he has scored three 50s, one 30+ score and six scores of less than 29, including two ducks. Over Maxwell’s last ten ODIs he has one 30+ score, eight scores of less than 25, bowled 47 overs, taken 9 wickets and averages 3.1 dot balls an over. Over Stoinis’s last ten ODIs he has eight scores of less than 29, bowled 55 overs, taken 8 wickets and averages 3.1 dot balls an over. Maxwell is the pick of my all-rounders as I believe he will offer more upside with the ball on the Indian pitches than the other two.
Wicket Keeper
Australia goes into the tournament with two players that have a wicket-keeper position designation in GDS. When applying the GDS scoring to their stats over the last ten games played, I’ve come up with the following fantasy point averages for the wicket keepers.
Alex Carey – 32 points
Josh Inglis – 24 points
Carey is the pick of the Australia keepers for me. This is only because I think he will play more matches than Inglis. When it comes down to selecting which keeper to play in my starting XI, I’m likely going to look towards Australia’s opposition for a starting keeper as both Carey and Inglis haven’t really impressed in fantasy recently.
Predicted Starting XI
1. David Warner
2. Mitchell Marsh
3. Steve Smith
4. Marnus Labuschagne
5. Glenn Maxwell
6. Marcus Stoinis
7. Alex Carey
8. Mitchell Starc
9. Pat Cummins
10. Adam Zampa
11. Josh Hazlewood