Bichel Zampa, Starc and Cummins Can Do the Job for Holders Australia
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Friday 45 S p o r t s Friday, May 24, 2019 World Cup will be won and lost in middle overs: Bichel Zampa, Starc and Cummins can do the job for holders Australia NEW DELHI: With quality bowling attacks, is a big one for me, someone who attacks the Australia and India may have the edge at the stumps, rolls it either way. “He’s pretty special World Cup in England where fortunes are likely bowling to new batters as well, keeps them very to be made or marred in the middle overs, former quiet ... The middle part is something I’m going Australia paceman Andy Bichel has said. Eng- to watch very closely.” Starc was Australia’s land’s home series against Pakistan provided a wrecker-in-chief four years ago and walked glimpse of what to expect, with the batsmen away with the player-of-the-tournament honour dominant in 300-plus scores throughout. Flat with his 22 scalps. He was backed up by quicks pitches, small grounds and fast outfields are Mitchell Johnson (15 wickets) and Josh Hazle- likely to defang the bowlers who will also strug- wood (seven). Johnson has since retired, while gle to generate swing with two new balls. “I think Hazlewood was omitted by selectors but Bichel that’s where the games could be won and lost,” believes Cummins and all-rounder Marcus Stoi- Bichel, who played 19 tests and 67 ODIs be- nis can fill the void. tween 1997-2004, told Reuters. “The thing that’ll probably help Mitchell “If a wicket does fall in the middle overs, and (Starc) is the fact that Pat Cummins has really this is where I think India has got a pretty good expressed himself and ended up being the Allan attack, and then (they) can blunt the run-flow Border Player of the Year,” he said, referring to before the back end (becomes) unstoppable.” Australia’s top cricket award. “I think that would Leg-spinner Adam Zampa and quicks Mitchell make Mitchell breathe a bit easier even though Starc and Pat Cummins can do the job for hold- he did have that good support last time. “An- Andy Bichel ers Australia in the 15 to 40-over phase, said the other good thing is Australia have grown a lot of 48-year-old Bichel, a panelist for Indian digital confidence in Stoinis in recent times, especially broadcaster Power Sportz in its World Cup pro- in the India series where he was given the ball to England in 2003 remains the second best bowl- first five or six overs to swing that ball the way gramming. “There’s going to be an opportunity bowl some big overs and he was pretty success- ing figures in World Cup records, had no doubt he does can really expose some top order bat- in the middle overs to attack with one of those ful.” The onus, however, will remain on Starc, who the left-armer could torment batsmen again. “He ters, because of his pace and the angle he is com- two (bowlers), to blunt the run-flow to a new played the last of his 75 ODIs against South hasn’t played recently but I watched him bowl the ing from. “And then in his later overs, we’ve seen batsman,” he added. Africa in November and is on the comeback trail other day and he looks like he’s building up nicely him blunt an in-form batsman with a pretty quick “That middle part of the game, Adam Zampa after an injury layoff. Bichel, whose 7-20 against for the tournament,” said Bichel. “His ability in the yorker from around the wicket.” — Reuters journey with a bang after scoring 77 off 88 balls that he remains a potent force ahead of what Embattled Sri to guide his team to a 35-run win over Scotland T20 kings W Indies could be his last major global tournament via the Duckworth-Lewis method on Tuesday. with some typically blistering innings, includ- Lanka hope for His predecessor, Lasith Malinga, leads the team’s ing 162 off just 97 balls in Grenada during a pace attack and is fresh from a title with Mumbai seek to make fresh drawn series at home to World Cup favorites Indians in the Indian Premier League Twenty20 England earlier this year. Yet there is more to WCup miracle tournament. World Cup mark the West Indies’ batting than the self-styled “Universe Boss”, with Evin Lewis, Shimron SERIOUS WEAKNESSES COLOMBO: Hetmyer and Shai Hope all capable of telling Sri Lanka go into the World Cup The win against Scotland does not erase the ST JOHN’S: Can the West Indies take the form with low expectations after losing eight of contributions in a line-up also boasting dan- shortcomings highlighted during their 5-0 ODI that has made them such a potent force in gerous all-rounder Andre Russell. One prob- their last nine one-day matches and led by a thumping in South Africa in March. Most con- Twenty20 cricket into the World Cup? That is captain who has not played 50-over cricket lem for the West Indies, as with many other cerning was the batting, with Sri Lanka unable the question confronting Jason Holder’s side as sides, could be how their attack fares on for more than four years. While the 1996 to last the full 50 overs in any of the four games they head into the one-day showpiece in Eng- champions have enjoyed some success in the what are likely to be a series of excellent that went the distance. None of the Sri Lankan land and Wales that starts on May 30. The batting pitches. Test arena, they have lost more than three- batsmen scored a century in that series and it Caribbean team, who open their campaign quarters of the ODI matches they have played was number nine batsman Isuru Udana who pro- against Pakistan at Trent Bridge the following RAW PACE since the beginning of 2017. During that pe- duced the team’s best innings of 78. The lack of day, have won two of the past three editions of riod, Sri Lanka have been led by six different But Shannon Gabriel, Kemar Roach and Os- a quality spin bowler has also plagued the team the World T20. With the increasing similarity in hane Thomas have the raw pace to unsettle captains, the most recent of whom is Test with Akila Dananjaya, the spinner they had been the way teams approach the two formats of the opener Dimuth Karunaratne. Karunaratne, batsmen regardless of conditions, while variety grooming for the World Cup, proving a shadow white-ball game, there seems no reason why the comes in the form of left-arm paceman Sheldon who is regarded as one of the best batsman in of his former self after having his faulty action West Indies cannot again be a force in 50-over the five-day format, had not been part of Sri Cottrell. Such has been the impact of Holder’s remodeled. cricket as well. captaincy in trying circumstances that his abil- Lanka’s ODI set-up since the 2015 edition, In place of Dananjaya, Sri Lanka have picked Yet they failed to qualify for the 2017 largely because of his low scoring rate in lim- ity with both bat and ball is often overlooked. leg-spinners Jeffrey Vandersay and Jeevan Champions Trophy ODI tournament in England But the West Indies’ spin options were depleted ited-overs matches. With the team’s top order Mendis as primary spin options in their World and only just scraped into this World Cup having routinely proved fragile during the se- when T20 star Sunil Narine ruled himself out Cup squad, though neither of those bowlers had through the qualifiers. It is all a far cry from the because he felt a finger injury would prevent ries against South Africa in March, the solidity played an ODI in the previous 18 months at the West Indies’ glory days, when a powerful Karunaratne offers as opener has proved at- him bowling the longer spells required in one- time of selection. Also of concern is the fielding, squad under the captaincy of Clive Lloyd won day cricket. tractive to team selectors. which has been below par in the past two years, the first two men’s World Cups, in 1975 and In his first assignment as Test captain, the 31- “We have some good young players who with the catching especially poor. Sri Lanka 1979, and lost in the 1983 final to India. A long- have been improving and developing well,” for- year-old led Sri Lanka to a 2-0 win in South hope that highly rated fielding coach Steve running player dispute appears to have been mer West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo told Africa, to make the islanders only the third team Rixon can turn things around. They can at least put behind them with the defeat of controver- the ICC website. “I have talked to captain Jason after Australia and England to win a Test series take heart from their pacemen Malinga, Suranga sial Cricket West Indies president Dave Holder and others and I believe this team will be there. But the skipper would have to perform a Lakmal and Nuwan Pradeep. Pradeep claimed Cameron in a recent election. With veteran a threat to all teams in the World Cup,” he added. near miracle to make his team into serious con- four wickets in the game against Scotland.