Sneak preview: Australia

Till a month ago, everyone would have expected the Aussies to continue their undefeated run of 17 games in a row in world cup games. But losing 6 of their last 7 games against England and New Zealand has changed all that for sure. From invincibles, they look like mere mortals now and with all the injuries, a team in complete shambles will be a better description.

I think Gilchrist's decision to skip the first half of the tournament is disappointing. I don't think that the world cup is the right time to take time off for personal reasons. Its ok to fly down for a couple of days in between but to join the team half way through with no match practice is not on for me. I think Aussies would have been better off giving Gilchrist a complete break for this tournament if he so desired. What happens if Haddin has an amazing run early on? Either way, its a decision that I don't entirely agree with.

Take Gilchrist out and add to it the uncertainty due to injuries surrounding Hayden and Symonds which are expected to take slightly longer to heal, Aussies are looking at playing the warm up games in the best case scenario with 12 players. This is assuming Ponting and Clark recover fully too. This might come back to haunt them eventually. How quickly Symonds recovers is the key to me because then the middle order of Ponting, Symonds, Clark and Hussey looks truly formidable. With no Gilchrist, I expect Watson to open the batting with Hayden or Haddin if Haydos does not recover. The bowling attack for the first game should in all likelihood have Tait, McGrath, Bracken and Clark/Hogg. Hodge is a more than useful batting substitute but no where in the same destructive class as Symonds. Johnson, to me, does not make the cut at this level and I would have much rather had someone like Gillespie instead.

I think the Aussies will continue to struggle to defend totals. However, with their batting lineup, they should be much better off chasing down targets. All things considered, they are definitely not invincibles any more and if they catch a couple of inspired teams on the way, they might even struggle to make the semifinals, something I am predicting to happen. Finally, I have a strong feeling that this world cup is not going to be a great swansong for McGrath, much like how the previous world cup turned out to be a disaster for another all time great fast bowler Allan Donald.