Undercooked and depleted, Australia still remain dangerous

The narrative is there for the taking. An Australian team looking undercooked and under-par going into a world event, making them even more dangerous and their presence more ominous for everyone else. However, the poor run of ODI form for the world champions in the last few months seems more systemic in nature, coinciding with a very evident phase of transition.

Cricket fans in Australia are still giddy on the back of a high-octane home Test summer and are already looking forward to what's to come for next summer, with the World Test Championship final to be the perfect mid-year teaser for the feast ahead.

ODI Form Guide: W. L. L. L. L

Australia's batting and top-order have let them down the most in recent ODIs, going four matches without even getting close to making a 200+ total. The team's lead-in form is underwhelming, with only England and South Africa sharing their group having more underwhelming lead-in form.

Squad:

• Steve Smith (c)
• Travis Head
• Glenn Maxwell
• Marnus Labuschagne
• Alex Carey (wk)
• Josh Inglis (wk)
• Matt Short
• Aaron Hardie
• Sean Abbott
• Adam Zampa
• Nathan Ellis
• Ben Dwarshius
• Spencer Johnson
• Jake Fraser-McGurk
• Tanveer Sangha

Australia's bowling attack is largely inexperienced, led by Adam Zampa, while Steve Smith takes over as captain for the first time in a multinational tournament since the last Champions Trophy in 2017. The team still has enough batting superstars and part-time spin talent to take them home and deep into the tournament.

Upcoming Matches:

• Feb 22: vs England, Lahore
• Feb 25: vs South Africa, Rawalpindi
• Feb 28: vs Afghanistan, Lahore