Playerspeak

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After the WI-Bangladesh match (indiscernible) against Bangladesh?

Bangladesh are playing some really good cricket at the moment and it's led by Shakib. We’ve obviously put our time into Shakib and all the players at the top of the order as well as their bowling.

Is Australia scared of Bangladesh’s spin attack?

No, we’re not scared of the spin attack. We’ve done our preparation. We know Shakib’s a big threat and has done a lot of the work for Bangladesh at the moment as well as Mehedi and a couple of the other spinners. We’ve prepared accordingly for the spin attack as well as the same attack as well. Mushfiq is bowling really well at the moment as well. So we've prepared for the conditions and for the attack.

What did you have to do to change the game plan to move into the middle?

Just assessing the situation. If it’s in the first innings, obviously last time we were here we were in a bit of trouble. So there was, I guess, a chance to just bat for a little while and I guess try to change the momentum.

Do you think Australia is playing their best cricket in this tournament?

We’re playing really good cricket. We’ve got areas where we can still improve and be more consistent at. I think the top of the order, batting-wise, have done a lot of the work and making a lot of the runs which is great. It’s their job. We’re bowling through the middle really well and at the back end, obviously Starc, Cummins, the guys that have come in have done their job. But there's little areas we can do better at.

Do you have a plan mapped out for how you'll advance that format over the next few years?

No, at the moment my experience at the international level has been with the white ball and I guess limited opportunity back in Australia in shield cricket. I wouldn’t change anything. If I’m playing white ball cricket for Australia, then I’m really happy to do that.

Do you feel like a strong World Cup can put you ahead of (indiscernible) for the back-up role come the Ashes?

I haven’t really thought about it to be honest. I’m not sure what the selectors will go with there. He’s obviously over playing in the Australia A set-up. But I want to play group cricket here for sure and I guess the rest of it will take care of itself.

Is it going to be a battle between B’deshi batsmen versus Aus pace bowlers?

Bangladesh are playing really well. It’s exciting to come up against a team that’s in good form. We’re in really good form as well. It’s going to be a great game.

Finch has lost seven straight coin tosses in a row, any advice for him?

No, I don’t. It’s interesting, though. We’ve lost a lot of tosses, but the last seven games we’ve played some pretty good cricket. In a tournament like this, although you want to win the toss, I don’t think it matters too much in terms of the outcome. If we get sent in, we know it’s going to be a good wicket; or if we’re chasing, we know what we’ve got to chase.

Any planning regarding Shakib?

We’ve had a look at the vision. He’s in probably career best form with the white ball. We sort of know the areas and line and length we want to bowl to him and I guess out there we'll assess the conditions as well. We normally have our plans going into every game and we assess each player accordingly. We’ve gone through all the batting list and hopefully plans go accordingly.

Courtesy — © ICC Business Corporation FZ LLC 2018

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