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Australia v Pakistan: key talking points. AUS vs PAK: key talking points from their CWC 2019 match.

Australia collapsed, Mohammad Hafeez hit an Aaron Finch full toss straight to deep midwicket and Pakistan’s lower order showed up their middle. Pakistan were possibly an extra second away, courtesy of a crucial review, to winning the game. However, the biggest shock was that we saw a full day of cricket in what has been a frustrating, rainy CWC 2019 to date.

Australia picked up a crucial win in a tight top four race, overcoming an inconsistent Pakistan by 41 runs. A sea of green in the crowd, much like sea of blue on Sunday, was well against Australia as Pakistan fans believed time and time again that they could pick up a vital victory.

It wasn’t to be the case, making more errors than an under-par Australia to fall behind the pack after defeat here and a cruel no result against Sri Lanka.

This game – a thriller – had five key talking points.

1. Pakistan’s first two hours cost them dearly

Pakistan won the toss and bowled first. However, that was the only thing they did right in the first two hours of play. Almost as though they weren’t expecting to get out on the field due to rain, Pakistan left their minds in the changing room, giving Australia a number of gifts in the early stages.

Mohammad Amir was brilliant. He hit the right lengths, swinging and moving the ball both ways to cause Australia problems. However, bowling partnerships, one of the biggest clichès in cricket, was centre of conversation as Aaron Finch and David Warner gobbled up Pakistan’s offering with ease. If batsmen are lone figures with wickets falling, Mohammad Amir was one in the field as no one else was willing to bowl with the same discipline. Hassan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Wahab Riaz bowled short and erratically to let Australia off the hook in bowler-friendly conditions.

Couple that with awful fielding, including dropped catches and midfields. An even worse review. Glum faces hoping for a favour. Australia obliged with their own charity, but Pakistan were their own worst enemy. They bounced back, but it proved to be too late.

2. Questions about Australia’s team balance

Shaun Marsh replaced the injured Marcus Stoinis. So, Australia believed having all three of Marsh, Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja in the same team would help either set the innings up, finish the innings strongly or arrest a collapse.

None happened. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

Australia took a punt and sent in Glenn Maxwell at four. A tactic that should have been employed vs India. However, some of our worst fears turned reality, with Maxwell batting just 10 balls and then Shaun Marsh and Usman Khawaja both new at the crease with 12 overs to go. What followed was carnage, with Australia losing 7/65 in the death overs to lose all momentum. 350+ was a must from the position they were in. They fell 43 short.

Despite the win, Australia have questions to answer. This game proved that Smith, Khawaja and Marsh can’t play in the same team. While they are all fine ODI players, they are too similar. Should Khawaja not be in the team unless he is opening? Can Australia send Aaron Finch to cone in at five to ensure power throughout the innings? Can Glenn Maxwell perform to his potential as so much depends on him?

As a result, Australia took a risk by employing Glenn Maxwell as the fifth bowler. Much still rests on Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins to deliver – the crucial two of the frontline four yesterday. Pat Cummins was outstanding, Mitchell Starc clutch in the final moments again and Kane Richardson and Nathan Coulter-Nile did their jobs for the most part.

However, if Australia are to go far in this tournament, their team balance has to be spot on. They can’t find themselves in a situation where two accumulators are starting their innings with the death overs approaching. Neither can Glenn Maxwell be the fifth bowler. So, expect Mitchell Marsh to come straight in when ready. Can he deliver the goods right away? It’s not like he has a choice – Australia need him to.

3. David Warner shows the value of converting starts

David Warner’s innings against India hurt Australia badly. He had to bounce back with a more fluent innings against Pakistan, and that he did, scoring a century to set a great platform for Australia.

His ability to convert a start – albeit helped by some awful Pakistani bowling and fielding – was a key difference in this game. Four of Pakistan’s top five made starts, and three gave their wickets away when they were in the ascendancy. Babar Azam mesmerised us all with beautiful straight and cover drives. A big score beckoned. Instead, he was out hooking one straight to fine leg for 30. Imam-ul-Haq gloved a legside bouncer after crossing 50, ending a threatening partnership with Hafeez. Then, worst of the lot, Mohammad Hafeez hit a friendly full toss from Aaron Finch straight to deep midwicket. Hafeez caused feelings of heartbreak and disgust in one moment of madness that put Pakistan right behind the eight-ball.

Despite the efforts of Sarafraz Ahmed, Hassan Ali and Wahab Riaz, Pakistan fell short in what is a big blow to their Semi Final hopes. The lack of conversions, like their poor bowling early on, was a key factor in the defeat.

4. Mohammad Amir and Pat Cummins were outstanding

When the captain goes around to each player tapping them on the back for their efforts, both Mohammad Amir and Pat Cummins would have received hugs.

Both were outstanding for their respective sides, delivering wickets at crucial stages to get their team back in the contest. Amir was the catalyst of Australia’s collapse after an opening spell that was unlucky not to yield wickets. Cummins dismissed the dangerous Fakhar Zaman early and then picked up two further wickets in a crucial middle-overs burst that put Australia on top. The key difference was the slightly better support for Pat Cummins – particularly Mitchell Starc, who was clutch in the final overs as he was vs West Indies – which proved pivotal to the result.

Combined, Amir and Cummins bowled 20 overs, taking eight wickets for just 63 runs in a fine display of seam bowling in conditions that provided assistance. Brilliant.

5. Pakistan have it all to do now

We all know that Pakistan can be brilliant one day and awful the next. However, how about a mixture of both within the same game?

Their no-result in a winnable game against Sri Lanka was a blow. However, they had every chance to knock off an Australia side well below their best. The inconsistency on display within the same game was incredible to see, dishing out either awful bowling and fielding or the opposite. With the bat, they either played gorgeous shots or gave their wicket away inexplicably. There was no in-between. The gap between Pakistan’s best and worst is still too large, which makes their quest for a top four place difficult enough. Now, they sit on just three points with five games to play – a situation begging for their best for extended periods.

Do they have it in them? Was their team selection correct? Does Shoaib Malik, who continues to be poor in England, stay in the team ahead of Imad Wasim? Do Pakistan give another chance to Asif Ali, who dropped two crucial catches and failed with the bat? What about Hassan over Shadab Khan?

Both sides have questions to answer. It is the team who answers them best that will have a say in this tournament.

Thanks for reading!