Australia vs England T20: Glenn Maxwell burnout fears on eve of World Cup
Last year Australia went into the World Cup almost devoid of preparation, but for their defence, the risk will be going in overcooked.
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Australia fear Glenn Maxwell is suffering from exhaustion on the eve of the World Cup, and believe time out of the nets is the tonic for his disturbing form slump.
Last year Australia went into the World Cup almost devoid of preparation, but for their defence, the risk will be going in overcooked after a crazy lead-up schedule which forced Aaron Finch’s team to India for three games and then cross country to Perth and back for one solitary match.
The good news is nine of Australia’s first-choice XI are firing seven days out from the sold-out tournament opener against New Zealand at the SCG, but concerns linger about key top order stars Maxwell and Finch and the pressure their lack of runs might put on the batters around them.
Maxwell’s T20 scores since the start of the Indian tour are 1, 0, 6, 0, 1, 8 and 8, and while Finch’s numbers are better with 22, 31, 7, 58, 15, 12, 13 and 0 – commentators have observed the skipper is still struggling to look still and assured at the crease.
Finch dismissed any doubt over Maxwell’s security in the team, but conceded Australia’s No.4 x-factor must be carefully managed over the next week to ensure he entered the World Cup mentally ripe.
“Not at all. Not one bit. He’s an absolute match winner. With guys like that who play a higher risk game than most, you have to ride the ups and downs at times,” Finch said.
“And with the ball he’s contributed really well and in the field his contribution is as good as anyone in the world. As an all-round package he’s still contributed heavily to this team.
“With the bat he would have liked more runs, no doubt, we all would, myself included. But the reality is that you can’t expect someone to play that high risk all the time and be consistent.
“His numbers over a long period of time are remarkable.
“He’s probably one who is a little bit fatigued as well. I know he’s had a really big workload coming off the Hundred. He played in the Hundred and then the series (against Zimbabwe and New Zealand) post that.
“I think for Maxi if he gets a really good freshen up over the last few days he’ll come out firing in this World Cup no doubt.”
Australia’s last remaining practice game against India on Monday is not an official Twenty20 international so there will be scope to give a hit or a bowl to more than XI players if desired.
Squad members Ashton Agar and Josh Inglis are yet to play any of the five lead-up matches on Australian soil so far and are likely to be given time in the middle, while medical staff and selectors will not be shy about prescribing rest to those they feel are in danger of running flat.
“I think the guys are probably a little bit tired at the moment in all honesty,” admitted Finch.
“I think the schedule has been so packed over the last six or eight weeks that we identified a couple of months ago that we wanted to make sure we were in a position to be peaking at the right time of the World cup and not beforehand.
“It’s going to be important over the next couple of days to try and freshen everyone up as much as we can.
“I think (before Saturday’s opener against New Zealand) there will be a couple of off days where there’s no cricket commitments at all, just to allow guys to get away and recharge and however that looks for each individual.
“I think overall, we were pretty disappointing in this (warm-up) series. England definitely outplayed us.”
Finch declared he was confident about his own game, with his first ball of the innings golden duck in the heavily rain-affected and ultimately abandoned last match against England not to be read into.
“Feeling really good. I’m feeling fine. I’m tinkering with a few different things. We knew in a 12-over game we thought there was going to be a bit more rain so we wanted to go ultra-hard and try and get ahead of Duckworth Lewis if we did manage to get five overs in,” said Finch.
“When you play a high risk game, it can come unstuck at times.”
Finch said the key to not becoming mentally burdened by getting soundly beaten by England on the eve of the World Cup, was to focus on individual preparations rather than the team result.
“It’s about being really individualised with training schedules. Some optional trainings in there which allows guys if they’re flagging a little bit, just to be able to freshen up. Each player has different requirements in their preparation,” he said.
RAIN SAVES AUSSIES FROM EMBARRASSING WHITEWASH
By Ben Horne
Rain might have saved Australia from a humbling series whitewash against England, but not before Glenn Maxwell and Aaron Finch’s World Cup woes continued.
Just seven days out from the opening of Australia’s title defence, the home side was handed another T20 lesson by England, albeit in hopeless conditions which forced teams from the field three times and ultimately forced an abandoned no result in Canberra.
Chasing a Duckworth-Lewis enhanced target of 130 off 12 overs after England had hustled their way to 2-112 off their 12, Finch was out very first ball of the innings in his 100th T20 international.
Mitchell Marsh got a leading edge very off the second ball to put Chris Woakes on a hat-trick at 2-0 after two deliveries – and the England seamer was well and truly hollering in triumph when he had birthday boy Maxwell caught for 8.
It was the Australian x-factor’s seventh consecutive single-figure score over the past three weeks.
Rain stopped the fight with Australia 3-30 after 3.5 overs, robbing Steve Smith (7 not out off 8) the chance to further impress his World Cup claims having come into the side as an injury replacement for David Warner (neck).
Australia may rue the lack of time in the middle Smith has been afforded during these practice matches now that Maxwell and Finch are entering the tournament under concerning form clouds.
Not to mention the fact Finch spent three of the warm-ups batting himself out of position down the order.
The pair will have one last chance in a final warm-up against India on Monday to harness some much-needed confidence, although it’s still far from panic stations given Australia did overcome similar issues to win last year’s World Cup in Dubai.
In many ways Australia can write the forgettable Friday night in Canberra off as a washout, which created artificial scoreboard pressure.
But the fact England has developed somewhat of a hoodoo over Finch’s side cannot be easily shrugged off given the two teams will play each other at the MCG in a crucial Cup pool game.
Not including Friday night’s no result, England has won six of their last seven matches against Australia and were the superior side for the majority of this three-match series to enter the World Cup deserved tournament favourites.
VILLAGE STOKES
England emerged from the second rain delay 2-73, and immediately went into blast off mode – smashing 39 off the 14 balls they were given to complete their full 12 overs.
However, it should have been 40 off 14 if not for a stunningly amateurish bit of running from England Test captain Ben Stokes.
Assuming he’d hammered the last ball of the innings for four down the ground, Stokes started to walk off the field, before realising the shot had been cut off on the boundary.
Stokes slid in to make his ground for one, and was then almost run-out as he attempted to make-up for his snooze by stealing a second that was never there.
It was a funny piece of cricket from a competitor who is usually as ruthless as they come.
WARNER WHIPLASH
Australian star David Warner doesn’t appear to be in any doubt for the start of the World Cup despite being forced out of Friday’s finale against England with a sore neck.
Warner said he suffered from severe whiplash in a fielding mishap on Wednesday night, where his head flung back aggressively into the turf as he tumbled backwards.
Well enough to play golf the next morning, the neck stiffened up as Thursday rolled on and a decision was made to rest the big-hitting opener.
Medical staff will hope to get Warner up for Australia’s final warm-up against India in Brisbane on Monday.
STARC’S ADVICE FOR BUTTLER
Fox Cricket expert Mark Waugh said early in the warm-up series against the West Indies last week that he felt a World Cup had never been more likely to produce a ‘Mankad’ than this one following the storm of reaction to a bowling run-out being effected in a women’s international in England.
There’s no suggestion Australia would consider going to those lengths, but fast bowler Mitchell Starc was quick to remind England captain Jos Buttler to stay in his crease.
Starc felt Buttler was creeping forward before his delivery release and turned around pointing back at the opener, but Buttler retorted that he didn’t think he had set off early.
CRAZY MONEY ON OFFER AS BBL SCRAMBLES TO REPLACE NO. 1 PICK
—Ben Horne & Russell Gould
England captain Jos Buttler is set to be offered $170,000 for a four-match Big Bash blitz, as the league fights to replace the loss of its No. 1 draft pick.
The shock selection of Liam Livingstone in England’s Test squad to tour Pakistan will rob the Melbourne Renegades of having their much-vaunted top seed for the start of the competition, with the World Cup ace now only available for half the eight games he nominated for at the draft.
On Big Bash draft night in late August, superstars Faf du Plessis and Andre Russell were awkwardly waiting on zoom calls to be interviewed live on-air by Fox Cricket the moment they were selected ... only to be stunningly brushed by all eight teams.
However, now their phones are set to buzz again, with the Renegades to proactively chase discarded draft kings Russell, du Plessis, Jason Roy and Kieron Pollard about the prospect of flying in as a short-term emergency replacement at $42,500 a game for the time Livingstone is unavailable.
At the top of the Renegades’ wishlist though is Buttler, who didn’t nominate for the BBL draft due to concerns over his workload, but could be ticked off by CA as eligible to be called in as a replacement.
Buttler is regarded by good judges including Fox Cricket’s Mark Waugh as the premier white ball batsman on the planet and would be an exceptional Plan B for England, if they can convince him to extend his summer stay in Australia by a couple of weeks.
England’s one-day series against Australia wraps up three weeks before the opening Big Bash game, but the Renegades would be open to Buttler flying home and back again on tournament eve if it meant injecting him at the top of their batting order for a fortnight.
Now that Livingstone is available for less time than he originally nominated at the draft, he will only pocket half of his $340,000 pay cheque, meaning the other half can be directed to another high profile replacement.
Livingstone told News Corp a few days before his unexpected England Test call-up, that it was his lifelong dream to play the five-day format for his country.
“Yeah as a kid, as an eight year-old kid playing in my back garden, I wanted to play Test cricket for England and as a 29-year-old kid as I like to call myself now … nothing has changed. I want to play test cricket for England,” said Livingstone.
“I’m a massive believer in whatever happens, happens for a reason.”
The Renegades will also speak to du Plessis and Russell, but it’s unknown how they feel after being originally overlooked.
However, $17,000 for four games is extremely good cash if the stars were able to put their ego to one side and come out to Australia for a two-week cameo.
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