Australia have lost their bearings as far as the ODI side is concerned, with respect to form and personnel going into the Champions Trophy. Australia have lost as many as five first-choice players to injuries and pullouts while losing 2-0 to Sri Lanka last week hasn’t helped their momentum one bit.
Injuries, pullouts and lack of preparation in the format have handicapped Australia a bit ahead of the 2025 edition of the Champions Trophy. Australia will be without five of their first-choice players including skipper Pat Cummins and Steve Smith is back in the hotseat as captain in an ICC tournament. However, it will be a depleted side and even though Australia mixed and matched and experimented with their line-up in the two matches against Sri Lanka, the sheer inability to play spin for the middle order would be a matter for concern for the two-time champions.
With Australia being unable to zero down on their second opener with Matt Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk failing to seal a spot, former skipper Ricky Ponting has suggested a radical move to send the acting captain Smith up the top. Smith, who has been a designated No 4 batter for Australia in ODIs, has been in good form but didn’t really light up the two ODIs in Sri Lanka but Ponting believes that the skipper with his ability to set a tone and being able to play in both gears could help the rest of the batting order to play around him.
“Yeah, he’s making it harder and harder (for selectors to stick with Fraser-McGurk),” Ponting said on the latest The ICC Review episode. “He’s not had the greatest of summers. I mean, there’s just so much talent there. There’s so much ability and skill and talent that we haven’t sort of seen consistently enough just yet. And that’s one of the big calls (selectors) are going to have to make now as well,” Ponting mentioned.
Fraser-McGurk returned scores of 9 and 2 in a couple of matches and had just one good hit for the Melbourne Renegades in the entire Big Bash League where he scored a quickfire 95 against the Brisbane Heat. Smith on the other hand had smashed his third BBL century while opening the innings for the Sixers.
“Do they think about opening the batting with Steve Smith, which is something that they could actually think about as well, I think, because of how well he’s done in white ball cricket when he has opened the batting?
“(Smith) could be someone that could be an anchor through this Champions Trophy at the top of the order. And you know that with the form that he’s in, he’s going to make big runs,” Ponting added.
Australia open their campaign against arch-rivals England in Lahore on Saturday, February 22.
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