With inspirational skipper Michael Clarke ruled out due to injury, two-time defending champions Australia are looking more vulnerable than ever as they gear up for their Champions Trophy Group A opener against confident Ashes rivals England here on Saturday.
Their patchy form aside, Aussies have a major worry to deal with as Clarke’s long-standing back problem has flared up once gain, ruling him out for the game while casting a shadow of doubt on his participation in the matches after that.
His availability for the remainder of the tournament would depend on his recovery. George Bailey, who led the side in the warm up games, is expected to captain the team when they begin their title defence.
“Michael is making steady progress in his recovery from the recent lower back injury but is yet to return to training. He will remain in london over the coming days to continue his rehabilitation and will not be available for the first match against England on Saturday,” Cricket Australia Physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said.
“How he responds to the ongoing treatment will determine his availability for the match against New Zealand next Wednesday,” he added.
The inspirational skipper is a crucial cog in the Australian scheme of things given that his batting form has more often than not been the difference between a win and loss for the team in the past few months.
England, on the other hand, would be looking to flourish in familiar conditions even though they endured an ODI series loss to a rather weak New Zealand just before the CT. But an overall assessment of their ODI stats would reveal that since 2010, England have won 23 and lost only 11 of the 37 matches they have played at home. A look at the team sheets gives a fair idea of just why the hosts would be the favourites on Saturday.
Australia, a team well past its glory days, is struggling to cope with what has been a tormenting transitional phase. The side’s batting has looked brittle and this frailty was most recently exposed in the warm-up match against India last week when, in the absence of Clarke, they were bowled out for just 65 runs while a chasing a steep 309.
Given the situation, it would be absolutely vital for Australia that Clarke returns to full fitness as soon as possible. The team would also be looking at imposing all-rounder Shane Watson to do quite a lot of scoring after a fine IPl stint with the Rajasthan Royals. Runs would also be expected from the likes of David Warner and Phil Hughes but batting would still be counted as a major weakness of the Australians which every opposition side would look to exploit.
In comparison, their bowling line-up looks decent with some variety. Exciting young pacer James Faulkner would look to make an impression after a successful stint during which he picked up 28 wickets at an average of 15.25 for the Rajasthan Royals.