TOPIC:

I think Australia should push ahead with the likes of David , Maxwell , Marsh
& this young kid Fraser-McGurk bats a bit like De Villiers
 

Like you Mike I thought it was done for at 6/80 odd with Stoinis playing an irresponsible reverse sweep to Rashid Khan and plumb lbw and turned the tv off and went to bed.
To wake up and see we won with Maxwell hitting 201no I must admit I had to take a second and third look at the score just to make sure I wasnt still asleep.
Watched the highlights this morning and had forgot Maxwell had come in on a hat trick after Warner and Inglis went in consecutive deliveries and then survived an lbw drs from Afghanistan on his first ball (which he had hit).
Was dropped a couple of times including an absolute sitter, survived another couple of lbw reviews and severe cramping all over and was just standing and delivering by the end and smashing everything in the middle and in the gaps!
I have been critical of him in the past but that was one out of the box by Maxwell.
Hopefully Dazz is still over there to have witnessed that one first hand.
On another note Inglis is sadly horribly out of form with the bat along with Starc with both bat and ball whilst Stoinis should come out for either Smith or Green if we need the extra bowler.

Be interesting to see where the Aust ODI set up goes post WC. Not sure in 4 years time, a 39 yr old Maxwell or a 36 yr old Marsh, is the way forward for Aust....but definitely the likes of David, Short, Fraser-McGurk, Davies, Philippe, Green, Hardie, Sutherland, Perry Connolly, Morris, T Sangha etc will get opportunities to show their ODI skill set.

TBH, some of these guys should be introduced in next years T20 world cup in the USA and West Indies. I would like to see Travis Head as the T20 captain and the Hazlewood/Cummins and Starc cartel broken up and replaced by younger bowlers in the white ball format such as Ellis, Johnson, Sutherland Hardie and Morris 

Finally we are at the business end of this seemingly endless tournament and the semi finals are intriguing. On form it should be an India v South Africa final but semi finals are sudden death so a bad day can knock out a side who have been better in the qualifying rounds. New Zealand have a habit of upsetting more favoured teams in knockout games so India would be a bit worried even though they have carried all before them so far. South Africas record of choking in knockout games is well known so they would also be trying to keep this out of their minds.
Hopefully the Australians rest Maxwell and a couple of other key players in the game against Bangladesh and give some others in the squad a run.

Not sure what to make out of that Bangladesh game. Yes great run chase to get to 300 odd for 2 down, with 5 overs left.. Another poor start with the ball.....actually hugely concerning that start with the ball, though Abbott redeemed himself, a bit bowling at the depth to keep the opposition around the 300 mark.....which in the end was 30 - 40 runs under par on that pitch.

So after a 0-2 start, Aust win 7 on the trot to finish 3rd on the table, earning a semi final spot v SA.  A couple of ugly wins, positive wins and lucky wins. Bowling definitely a worry outside of Zampa and to a lesser degree Maxwell. Fast boys definitely leaky boat material, with nil Shami or Bumrah like performances.

Anyone's semi final TBH, both teams have seen a fair bit  of each other over the last few months. SA definitely played at their best during this tournament, whilt Aust have scratched the surface at times. Maxi back for Stoinis and Starc no doubt for Abbott, though if Starc didn't play I wouldn't be that fussed. Stoinis is a waste of talent and time sadly.

Pretty accurate summation Freezin. Australia have exceeded my expectations in this tournament as I didnt expect them to make the semi finals so in that sense they have done well. It does feel like they are playing South Africa for 2nd place because India are just so far ahead of anyone else it is hard to imagine any one beating them in the final. New Zealand have a history of upsetting more fancied opponents in World Cups but this may be a bridge too far for them.
Agree with you about Stoinis. I am puzzled why they keep picking him given that his batting and bowling performances have generally been below par for most of the games he has played.

Australias main 2 problems in this WC has been their fast bowlers inability to get wickets in the 1st 10 overs and the difficultly of their middle order in accelerating the scoring, both of which they have failed to resolve over the last 6 weeks. Zampa and Maxwell have papered over a lot of cracks that have appeared in the structure of the side. However against South Africa, these inadequacies may be exposed. The hope is that maybe some of the Proteas previous history of choking may come back to haunt them under the pressure of a final

the prepared pitches will play a huge part from here on
doubtful we'll see any bounce above knee height India won't want either SA or Australia's big hitters given any of that
India wouldn't want to take anything easy against NZ they play a pretty decent game it's where the upset just begs an appearance
SA have worked out Australia's bowlers so that is going to be where the captain has to get it sorted - last remaining chance for a spot in a WC final

Looks like the weather is going to have a major impact on the Australia v South Africa semi. Rain is forecast for both the scheduled and reserve days. 20 overs minimum per side will constitute a game, if this is not possible South Africa will go through having finished ahead of Australia on run rate. Would be a real pity if this happened given that both sides have worked hard to get to this stage and the occasion deserves a full 50 over game

India looking almost certain for another World Cup title, can't see Australia or South Africa challenging them. They have too many good players in form at the moment. Helps when they can switch pitches to suit themselves just before the game mind you.
Kohli is scoring centuries for fun, Shami is taking wickets for fun and all the others are contributing to the team collective. They are as dominant as the Australian team of the 2000's