World Cup 2015 ODI: Aussies current form & home conditions will help them get a semi-final berth

Australia’s current form and more importantly playing in front of their home crowd will make themselves a hot contender for the World Cup title.

The last 1 year have seen an upsurge in the quality of cricket by Australia and this has got to do with the quality of their pitches and the domestic tournaments. This upsurge has ceremoniously made the players to be in their aggressive attitude and this is paying off at large dividends. Their motto is to not only enjoy cricket but win at any cost.

This transformation has been lead by Lehman and equally contributed by Clarke. Though Clarke has been absent, the process laid in terms of intensity has been accepted and followed at large.

And when we talk about the World Cup 2015 predictions for Australia, the above attributes make them a deadly team to qualify for the finals.

For this, they have the most balanced side with Warner and Finch at the top, with Watson, Bailey, Smith and Maxwell taking the slot as middle order batsmen. Each of the players are aggressive in intent and imagine that these players will be followed by all-rounders in Haddin, Marsh and to a great extent Faulkner, this will surely ring alarming bell to the opponents in England, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and New Zealand.

The bowling combination looks very good as Hazlewood, Johnson, Starc and Cummins. Dohery might be used against Sri Lanka to be played at Sydney, which will aid spin.

To me, Clarke should be used only for key matches and especially the last 2 matches of the round robin and is a key player for the knock stages.

All in all, a very promising World Cup outing for Australia and they are sure to find themselves in Semi-Finals.

Australia Team:

Batsmen: Clarke (Captain), Bailey (Vice Captain), Finch, Maxwell, Smith, Warner

Bowlers: Cummins, Doherty, Faulkner, Hazlewood, Johnson, Starc

All-Rounders: Marsh, Haddin, Watson

Fixtures:

Vs England – Melbourne – Feb 14^th

Vs Bangladesh – Brisbane – Feb 21^st

Vs New Zealand – Auckland – Feb 28^th

Vs Afganistan Perth – Mar 4^th

Vs Sri Lanka – Syndey – Mar 8^th

Vs Scotland – Hobart – Mar 14th