Colombo Collapse Reveals Major Issues for Australian Champions

Starc withdraws from Champions Trophy | 00:26

Missing half of its triumphant World Cup squad, Australia will need the team’s fringe players to step up in the absence of their experienced teammates for any chance of winning the Champions Trophy for the first time in 16 years.

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Of the 15 players that stood on the podium following Australia’s World Cup final victory in Ahmedabad in November 2023, only eight feature in the Champions Trophy squad that was announced on Wednesday afternoon.

Veteran opener David Warner has retired, along with all-rounder Marcus Stoinis, while the quartet of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Marsh, Josh Hazlewood and Cameron Green are nursing injuries. The Australians were dealt an additional blow this week when speedster Mitchell Starc pulled out of the tournament due to personal reasons.

Nationals selectors were subsequently forced to make several changes to its provisional Champions Trophy squad, calling in reinforcements ahead of the ongoing two-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, who failed to qualify for the ICC event.

However, Wednesday’s 49-run loss in Colombo shone a spotlight on the inexperience within Australia’s touring party, most notably at the top of the order and in the bowling stocks. The openers were too aggressive against the new ball, while the middle order was undone by Sri Lanka’s spinners and some questionable shot selection.

“It was Australia’s batting performance which let them down,” former Test batter Brad Hodge said on Channel 7.

“It wasn’t one of their best performances of all time.

“They’ve copped a towelling, and they’ll have to turn that around.

“They’ve got some work to do.”

It has been nearly 18 months since Warner retired from the game’s 50-over format, but Australia is yet to unearth a worthy replacement for the New South Welshman.

Matt Short looms as the leading candidate to open the batting alongside Travis Head in Pakistan, but the Victorian’s ODI record leaves a lot to be desired – 195 runs at 19.50 across 12 matches. Since clobbering his maiden ODI half-century in September, a 22-ball fifty against England in Bristol, the right-hander has posted scores of 1, 19, 22 and 0.

Pinch-hitter Jake Fraser-McGurk was added to Australia’s Champions Trophy squad at the eleventh hour but failed to reward the selectors’ faith on Wednesday, crawling towards 2 (9) before he was caught off the leading edge.

The Victorian shot to stardom last year following his whirlwind performance in a home ODI series against the West Indies, but he has since notched scores of 16, 13, 7 and 2. He hasn’t survived beyond the fifth over in any of his six ODI appearances to date, while his recent domestic form has been patchy to say the least.

West Australian young gun Cooper Connolly, who made his international debut in all three formats across the last six months, has been chosen as the team’s travelling reserve for the Champions Trophy. The 21-year-old was named player of the Big Bash League last week following a breakout campaign with the Perth Scorchers, but the rising star has yet to convert his domestic form into Australian colours.

With Green, Stoinis and Marsh each missing in action, Aaron Hardie has taken up the mantle as Australia’s leading all-rounder for the Champions Trophy campaign.

The West Australian only has 12 ODI caps under his belt with zero fifties, but he showed promising signs in Colombo on Wednesday, taking 2-13 from six overs with the new ball before hitting 32 (37) during the run chase. As a bonus, Hardie has proven a handy new-ball bowler, producing probing spells with the fresh cherry in England and Sri Lanka.

However, replacing the pace bowling trio of Starc, Hazlewood and Cummins – who have collectively taken 525 ODI wickets – could prove a significant challenge for the Australians. Their understudies – Spencer Johnson, Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis and Ben Dwarshuis – only have 47 ODI wickets between them.

Johnson, the like-for-like replacement for Starc, claimed two wickets during the Powerplay of the first ODI against Sri Lanka, finishing with figures of 2-44 from seven overs.

While Starc has mastered the craft of swing bowling, Johnson’s most damaging weapon has been generating steep bounce off a good length. Having never taken an ODI scalp before Wednesday, the left-armed seamer has been thrown in the deep end and tasked with filling Starc’s boots for a major ICC tournament.

“It’s obviously something I’ve pictured in my mind, to come in and play a similar role to (Starc),” Johnson said during the post-match press conference.

“There were a few nerves there, and obviously big shoes to fill, but I’m better for the run.

“It’s only my third ODI so hopefully a few more, and hopefully I can replicate some of the stuff he’s done.”

Fresh off a maiden BBL triumph with the Hobart Hurricanes, Tasmania seamer Nathan Ellis once again demonstrated why he’s considered one of Australia’s craftiest white-ball seamers by taking 2-23 from nine overs against Sri Lanka. With an assortment of slower balls and variation deliveries, the 30-year-old will be crucial for the death overs throughout the Champions Trophy.

Sean Abbott rounds out the Australian bowling attack as the team’s most experienced quick, but the New South Welshman’s recent ODI form – four wickets at 77.25 since September last year – has seen him fall down the pecking order after he served as Australia’s reserve bowler during the 2023 World Cup triumph.

Australia restricted the hosts to 8-135 on Wednesday before Sri Lankan captain Charith Asalanka cracked a career-best 127 (126) while batting with the tail. The Australian bowlers, who seemingly battled fatigue late in Sri Lanka’s innings, have nine days to acclimatise to the subcontinent’s humid conditions before next week’s tournament opener against England in Lahore.

Leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha and seamer Ben Dwarshuis, both standout performers in the Big Bash, were the other draftees in Australia’s Champions Trophy squad, but neither is expected to crack into the first-choice starting XI unless injury or conditions warrant a call-up.

Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell and Josh Inglis, who were each rested for the first ODI against Sri Lanka, will bolster the team upon their return, while Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne will anchor the team’s middle order.

However, pressure will mount on Australia’s experienced players if the country’s next generation of stars can’t produce their best in Pakistan this month.