Published: Feb 02, 2015, 03:03 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 02, 2015, 03:04 PM (IST)
Australia had the perfect series as they won the triangular series involving England and India, and head into the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 high on morale. Pramod Ananth looks back at Australia’s dominating performance and rates the players on a scale of 10.
Aaron Finch (5/10): Finch got off to starts in all games barring the final, where he got out for a duck. He narrowly missed out on a century in the second One-Day International (ODI) against India at Melbourne. Finch and David Warner form a formidable partnership at the top and have the ability to match each other shot for shot.
David Warner (6/10): Warner got Australia off to a flying start in the opening game of the tri-series against England at Sydney. He scored a 115-ball 127 and cancelled out England captain Eoin Morgan’s brilliant century early on. Warner was brilliant on the field as well and his value to the team cannot be under-estimated. Warner was however involved in an on-field spat with Rohit Sharma in the second ODI and was fined 50 per cent of his match fee, which is the only blot in his otherwise good series.
Steven Smith (8/10): Smith cannot put a foot wrong at the moment by the look of it. He scripted history when he scored an unbeaten century in the fourth ODI at Hobart against England and thus became the only man on the planet to score centuries on Test and ODI captaincy debut, after George Bailey was banned for slow over-rate. Smith got starts in all the games and finished the series off with 226 runs at an average of 75.33.
Shane Watson (3/10): Watson managed to play just two games in the tri-series and missed the remaining games due to injury. He’s had a long summer and it is perhaps taking a toll on his body. He managed to get 16 and 41 in two innings and didn’t pick up a single wicket with the ball. His role in the team as an all-rounder certainly took a beating after a poor show.
George Bailey (2/10): The Australian captain had a poor outing by his standards. He just managed 17 runs in three innings, which is not good for a player batting high up the order. He will have to get his act together before the World Cup, where he will lead the side in the absence of regular skipper Michael Clarke, at least for a couple of games.
Glenn Maxwell (7/10): After getting out for a duck in the opening match of the series, Maxwell once again proved to be an asset in Australia’s middle-order. He scored close to a run-a-ball in every match and was the difference maker in the final at Perth where he not only made 95 but managed to wreck havoc with the ball as well, taking sfour for 46.
Brad Haddin (6/10): Haddin always came in at a time when Australia needed some quick runs to finish the innings off on a high. The veteran wicket-keeper did just that. He smashed 42 off 29 balls in the third ODI against England and proved that he will be a key player for them in the World Cup.
James Faulkner (9/10): James Faulkner has been the most consistent player in the series for Australia. He always managed to get runs in a flash, while batting down the order andextremely handy with the ball, which included a number of variations. His 50 not out off 24 balls in the final against England was what got Australia from a par score to a match-winning total. He also picked up eight wickets in the five matches Faulkner played.
Mitchell Marsh ( 6/10): Mitchell Marsh is rated very highly by the Australian selectors. Marsh played only two ODIs in the series, one of which was washed out and the other one happened to be the final. Marsh’s 68-ball 60 and his 100-plus partnership with Maxwell tipped the match in Australia’s favour. Marsh was decent with the ball as well, he didn’t pick up any wickets in the match, but went for just over two an over in his seven overs.
Mitchell Starc (8/10): The ‘Man of the Series’ Mitchell Starc was a revelation in the bowling department for Australia. He has seemed to have peaked just at the right time, which is a major boost for his side ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. Starc was on top of his games he picked up four and six wickets against England and India respectively. He lost a bit of rhythm in the next ODI but bounced back in the final overs of the match. Although he went wicketless in the final, he managed to pick up 12 wickets in the series.
Patrick Cummins (2/10): Patrick Cummins could not make much of an impact in the series despite playing in three out of the five matches. Cummins had a good start to the series but lost his way as it progressed. He was dropped after the team’s third match as he conceded 74 runs and managed to pick up just one wicket. Whether he will play an integral part in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 in uncertain.
Xavier Doherty (5/10): Xavier Doherty was Australia’s only spin option going into the tri-series. In a squad filled with top draw fast-bowlers, Doherty managed to hold his own in the series. He played just two games and he was impressive in the first game against England, where he finished with figures of one for 38 in his 10 overs. The second match he played was unfortunately washed out and he got to bowl only three overs in the process.
Gurinder Sandhu (5/10): Gurinder Sandhu made his One-Day International (ODI) debut in the second game against India and claimed the wicket of Ajinkya Rahane. Sandhu also managed to pick up two wickets in the following game against England, but didn’t get a game after that as Australia were trying to get their combinations right ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.
Shaun Marsh (5/10): It would be unfair to judge Shaun performance based on his lone appearance in the series. But he made an impact in the fourth ODI in the absence of David Warner and made a sparkling 48-ball 45 coming in at the top of the order.
Cameron White (1/10): Cameron White had no impact in the series as he failed in the only game he got.
Moises Henriques (4/10): Moises Henriques played just one game and that was against England in the fourth ODI. He had a decent outing as dismissed James Taylor early on. He is not part of the Australia squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.
(Pramod Ananth is a reporter at CricketCountry. He has represented Karnataka table tennis under-15, and is a hardcore supporter of Liverpool FC. His Twitter handle is @pramz)
