With the start of the Twenty20 World Cup less than three months away, teams should be beginning to fine-tune their preparations but Australia may have to go back to the drawing board if they don’t arrest their problems in the ongoing series with West Indies.
The Aussies are currently 9/2 to win the showpiece tournament later this year, taking place in the United Arab Emirates and Oman, while the Windies are on offer at 7/1 but these prices may change if the tourists continue to falter in the Caribbean.
Aussies Wilting Under Pressure
Aaron Finch has had the benefit of winning both tosses in the first two T20s, electing to field first each time, but things have not gone according to plan, leaving plenty of questions to answer.
Andre Russell’s 28-ball 51 did rescue the Windies to a degree in the opening encounter, steering his side to a respectable 145-6, when they had been in trouble at 65-4 and at 101-5 after 16 overs.
Josh Hazlewood had impressed in particular with the ball, taking 3-12 off his four overs, and, despite the late onslaught from Russell, Australia were very much expected to win.
Despite the captain’s ongoing struggles with the bat, Matthew Wade (33) and Mitchell Marsh, who made 51 as well as taking 2-26, steered Australia into a commanding position only for a collective meltdown to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Australia lost their last six wickets while scoring just 38 runs with Obed McCoy (4-26) and Hayden Walsh (3-23) doing the damage as the Baggy greens were bowled out for 127 after 16 overs.
Hetmyer Shines As Windies Take Control
There was a more assured batting performance from the Windies in the second T20 as Shimron Hetmyer laid the foundations for a big score with 61, while Dwayne Bravo and Russell almost saw the hosts reach 200, both finishing unbeaten on 47 and 24 respectively as they set a target of 197.
Australia’s run chase never quite materialised with Marsh the only one to offer any real resistance with a fine 54, while only Josh Philippe and Moises Henriques even reached double figures as they were once again bowled out, this time for 140 as they went down 2-0 in the series with a 56-run defeat.
The men from Down Under could do with more runs from the captain, who has made just 10 runs in his two innings, but another capitulation must be deeply worrying as they lost their last seven wickets for 39 runs this time.
Australia are staring down the barrel of a series defeat already going into the third game of the five-match series and find themselves as outsiders at 1/1 with the Windies installed as 10/13 favourites.
There are clearly one or two issues for the understrength tourists to sort out but this is T20 cricket in a nutshell…anything can happen, and it may be folly to write them off too early.
Big Guns Need to Step Up
Something similar could be said about Mitchell Starc but given his figures of 0-89 in eight overs across the first two T20s, there may not be too many jumping on the 23/20 for him to take two or more wickets, but Australia need more production from their top strike bowler.
Finch is also bang out of form and on recent evidence 3/1 on Marsh looks more backable than the same price on the skipper, but this is T20 and the more experienced Aussies need to stand up.
However, one price that does look particularly tempting given the struggles of both top orders is the 9/2 on Hetmyer to finish as the Windies’ top batsman.
The 24-year-old at least chalked up a score (20) in the first T20 and his superb 36-ball 61 won this market in the second encounter, while batting at four does almost guarantee some decent time out in the middle.
*All odds correct at time of writing