Australia announce squad for 2019 World Cup

[giri26]

Hazlewood wants to make use of World Cup snub to prepare for Ashes

Fast bowler Josh Hazlewood, who was not included in Australia's 15-man squad for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019, expressed his disappointment at missing out on the flagship tournament, but stated his intent to make use of the downtime to better prepare himself for the Ashes series, which starts on 1 August.

Hazlewood, who was a part of Australia's World Cup-winning squad in 2015, was overlooked twice, the second time when the selectors called up Kane Richardson to replace the injured Jhye Richardson last week.

Hazlewood is recovering from a back injury and hasn't played a one-day international for Australia since November last year. The selectors had made it clear that they want Hazlewood to be fully fit for and concentrate on the Ashes.

"Having not played at the highest level for some time, we feel this will provide him with the best preparation to get some quality cricket under his belt,” chief selector Trevor Hohns had said. "Our focus is to have Josh back bowling at his best for the commencement of a big Ashes tour."

The pacer, however, showed his fitness during a training camp at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane, and hoped he could still find an opening into the squad.

"It was obviously bitterly disappointing," Hazlewood told Australian Associated Press. "It [World Cup] only comes around every four years. I was lucky enough to experience it on home soil last time. It'll probably hit me a bit once the tournament starts and you're watching on TV.

"I guess if someone went down halfway through the tournament, then my chances would be a bit better. You never know."

The flip side of not making the World Cup squad, however, wasn't lost on Hazlewood. "It will obviously mean I have a few more four-day games with the Dukes ball in England, so that's going to be fantastic for me," he said. "And probably put me a step ahead of a few other guys who are only going to get the one red-ball game before the Ashes."

The right-arm pacer is also a part of the Australia A squad that will tour England prior to the Ashes, with the first of their five 50-over games starting on 20 June.

https://www.cricketworldcup.com/news/1220740

 

[giri26]

Cricket World Cup 2019: Darren Lehmann tips Steve Smith for 'exceptional' run

Former Australia coach Darren Lehmann has tipped Steve Smith for an “exceptional” ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, while backing David Warner to help the defending champions in the manner he did four years ago when they won the title at home.

Having served their 12-month bans for the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa last year – the result of which was also that Lehmann stepped down as coach – the pair of Smith and Warner will play their first international matches for Australia at this summer’s World Cup. Lehmann, having worked closely with the former captain and vice-captain, backed them to deliver strongly.

“He (Smith) will be exceptional at the World Cup,” Lehmann told Macquarie Sports Radio. “People are worried about the break they have had with 12 months out, but you see them in the IPL performing and making runs.

“David Warner is an excitement machine, at the top of the order he can set it alight. If he has a really good tournament, he set us on the road to winning a lot of games like he did at the (2015) World Cup with Aaron Finch, they’ll be hard to stop.”

Warner and Smith returned to the IPL this year, for Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals respectively. Warner amassed 692 runs at an average of 69.2 and strike-rate of 143.86 for SRH before returning home, whereas Smith, who led Rajasthan in the latter half of IPL 2019, made 319 at 39.87 at a strike-rate of 116.

Both cut short their IPL stints at the end of April to fly back to Australia for a pre-World Cup camp and three unofficial one-day matches against a New Zealand XI in Brisbane.

Batting at No 4 in all three matches, Smith scored 22, 89 not out and 91 not out. Warner fared worse, scoring 39 from one-down and 0 and 2 as opener.

Australia open their World Cup campaign against Afghanistan at Bristol on June 1.

https://www.cricketcountry.com/news...n-tips-steve-smith-for-exceptional-run-843927

 

[MenInG]

Australia coach Justin Langer has defended the team's decision to overlook ICC Men's Cricket World Cup-winner Josh Hazlewood for their title defence at the 2019 edition that begins on 30 May.

Hazlewood was ignored twice, first when Australia named their 15-man World Cup contingent, and then when Jhye Richardson picked up an injury and the selectors called up Kane Richardson as a replacement, leaving Hazlewood to focus on being fit for the Ashes series later in the summer.

Hazlewood lifted the World Cup with Australia in 2015, and was No.1 in the MRF Tyres ICC One-Day International Bowling Rankings as recently as 2017, but a back injury has kept him out of the Aussies' 50-over side since November last year.

Hazlewood called the snub "bitterly disappointing", but head coach Langer says a recall for the forthcoming flagship tournament could not be justified given his recent lack of white-ball cricket.

"He just hasn't been playing any [T20 and one-day] cricket," Langer said. "He's come off a second stress fracture in his back and while he's just starting to get up and running in the nets now, I think he's played six white ball games in the last 18 months.

"We know he's a great bowler. He's a brilliant bowler, but it was just such bad timing for him. He's a terrific bloke, he's been vice-captain of the team. He's a brilliant bowler ... his numbers over the last four years have been good. But over the last 18 months, he just hasn't played enough.

"I'm sure he's disappointed. There's a few guys who are disappointed not to be in the squad. Hopefully through the Australia A series he can start playing cricket again ... We can't wait to welcome him back."

Australia head to England in good form having whitewashed Pakistan 5-0 in the United Arab Emirates, and with confidence high following the returns to the fold of senior batsmen Steve Smith and David Warner.


And Langer is looking forward to testing his side's progress against "red-hot favourites" England on 25 May, one of two warm-up games before Australia's campaign begins against Afghanistan in Bristol on 1 June.

"They’re playing brilliant cricket aren’t they?" Langer said of England. "They’re obviously the red-hot favourites for the tournament, they’re playing here in their home country, they’re playing brilliantly, they deserve to be the No.1 team in the world.

"So we’re looking forward to playing them. There’s always good rivalry between us and it’s going to be nice for us to see how we’re at against the best team in the world."

https://www.cricketworldcup.com/news/en/1223613

 

[giri26]

Australia training on specific skills to counter England's flat pitches

The recent one-day international series between England and Pakistan indicated yet again that pitches in England and Wales, the venue for the World Cup, could offer plenty of runs. There were five scores of over 350 in eight completed innings, with 297 being the lowest.

With that in mind, defending champions Australia, under the supervision of bowling coach Adam Griffith, have been practising hard at their training camp in Southampton to master their death-bowling skills.

Bowlers are largely focused on being spot-on with their yorkers and on countering the batsmen's trigger movement. Mitchell Starc, the left-arm pacer, revealed there was a bit of competition, with bowlers awarded points for hitting different areas.

"It was a bit of target bowling for the group. We’ve got certain cones put up for wide yorkers either side of the stumps and trying to hit that zone," Starc told cricket.com.au. "It’s something we’re working hard on because death bowling is something where you can win or lose a game or defend a total."

Starc, who lit up the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2015 with his fast, swinging yorkers, has not been a regular in Australia's limited-overs sides in recent times as the selectors have looked to manage his workload. Having played only four limited-overs internationals since February 2018, he rediscovered his pace and accuracy during Australia's warm-up matches against New Zealand in Brisbane earlier this month.

The 29-year-old came in for criticism for his Test bowling in the Australian home summer, but he is confident that a changed mental approach will help him regain his swing and best form during the mega-event. "Having three months to chat about things and have a little bit of a different approach to how I think about it, and perhaps the change of wording and what my cues are, have really helped me in coming to back to this stage," he said.

The defending champions will play warm-up matches against England and Sri Lanka before their campaign gets underway against Afghanistan in Bristol on 1 June.

https://www.cricketworldcup.com/news/en/1223983

 

[MenInG]

Australia batsman Shaun Marsh said that he is not worried about his role, or the competition for spots, at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019.

Marsh, who scored an unbeaten half-century in Australia's comfortable win over West Indies in an unofficial fixture on Wednesday, 22 May, said that he was happy with the acclimatisation the knock afforded him. Marsh was one of Australia's biggest positives in their 5-0 defeat against England in June last year. The 35-year-old had scored 288 runs at an average of 57.60, which included two spectacular hundreds.

"It certainly does give you confidence if you've scored runs here in the past," Marsh told reporters. "It was nice to spend some time out in the middle and get my feet moving. I enjoy batting out here. Obviously, it's a different challenge. The wickets are slower [compared] to what they are back home, and it swings around a bit."

Marsh didn't sound worried about making the XI and also brushed aside concerns when asked if he thinks he will be competing with Usman Khawaja for a spot in the team. "I'm not really sure. I'd like to think I'm nice and flexible," he said. "I've batted from one to six throughout my career. I'm just going to try and enjoy the next two practice games and spend more time out in the middle. And see what happens."

Australia will play two warm-up games - against England on 25 May and against Sri Lanka on 27 May - before their opening fixture against Afghanistan on 1 June.

I've batted from one to six throughout my career. I'm just going to try and enjoy the next two practice games.
SHAUN MARSH

Khawaja, who retired hurt on 5 after being struck by a nasty Andre Russell bouncer in the second over of Australia's innings, was cleared of any serious injury, following scans of his jaw. Marsh said that it was scary watching Khawaja get hurt, but was relieved that he was okay.

"It was very scary," said Marsh. "It copped him on the side of the cheekbone, I think. The main thing is he is okay and can bounce back pretty quickly. Obviously [he was] a bit shaken, as you are when you get hit on the head, but Uzzy’s a tough cookie and he’ll be ready to go."

https://www.cricketworldcup.com/news/en/1224837

 

[MenInG]

Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has opened up about his role with the ball, saying that he is not fazed about getting hit as long as he’s delivering the right kind of balls.

Maxwell has begun to take on a more prominent role with the ball lately, as evidenced during Australia’s one-day international series' in India and in the United Arab Emirates against Pakistan, where he bowled 64 overs across nine innings. He is now set to be a key supporting option at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019.

Wrist-spinner Adam Zampa will be Australia’s first-choice specialist spinner, and with Maxwell in the form of his life with the bat, he is likely to be Australia’s go-to secondary spinner, with his off-spin, which could leave no room for Nathan Lyon.

"Try not to get hit for six most of the time," Maxwell said jokingly on his role with the ball. "For me, I suppose, a lot of the time that I bowl, I just try to limit the boundary balls. As long as I'm doing that, if they hit some good shots off my bowling, I'm not too fazed. If I'm limiting the boundary balls and giving myself the best chance to squeeze a few dot balls, bowl a couple of tight overs, it might create a bit of pressure at the other end."

Following the India and UAE tours, Maxwell went over to England instead of Indian Premier League, and used the time to ready himself for the World Cup and the Ashes series that follows it. His county stint included six List A games with Lancashire at the One-Day Cup, in which he took eight wickets while maintaining an economy rate of 5.62: pretty handy numbers for a part-time spinner.

"I think it's important for me to just bowl in a partnership with someone," he said. "That's probably the clarity I have in my role, and it's something I did a bit in Dubai [against Pakistan] and India, and started to get a few more overs, a bit more consistency... To have that continue into my time at Lancashire, where I got plenty of time at the bowling crease, you get that rhythm, you get that feel of the ball coming out consistently. You need that as a part-time bowler, to have that consistency of time at the crease and get a few of the cobwebs out, I suppose."

Maxwell has also added layers to his batting, showing an element of calculation that was previously missing. In 13 ODIs this year, Maxwell has made 458 runs, averaging 41.63 – markedly higher than his career average of 33.33 – and striking at 126.51. He indicated that his role at the World Cup would require him to show more such adaptability.

"I suppose my role in the team is to adapt to whatever start we have, whether it be we get off to a flyer or we've lost a few early wickets. It's just to adapt to whatever I get thrown into," he said. "I just want to have an impact on games in a really positive way and be able to control the back end.

"I have expectations on myself to finish off games and be the guy who's standing there at the end of the game and making sure that we win the game."

https://www.cricketworldcup.com/news/en/1224858

 

[Sami92]

Hazelwood hasn't played any cricket for 4 months & Carey is our only specialist keeper.

Does that mean Handscomb isn't a specialist keeper then I guess ? If Handscomb is a specialist keeper then I would have picked Handscomb ahead of Carey as a better batsman.

Although I like Kane Richardson, he is still inexperienced in ODIs. Is Hazzlewood fit ? I would have picked a fit Hazzlewood ahead of him and playing him in the warm up matches would have been enough for an experienced pacer like him.