The bi-annual festival of limited-overs cricket is only 5 days away as preparations are almost complete in the land of the kangaroos. 12 teams will compete to take home the prestigious trophy of the 8th edition of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022. The favorites to win the tournament are none other than the hosts and the winners of last year’s tournament, the Australian Cricket Team.
Australia is the most successful team in the world of cricket, having won the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup, a record 5 times and the ICC Champions Trophy two times but Australia hasn’t been able to showcase their potential in the shortest format of the game as they have come real close to winning the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, having the semi-finals twice and being the runners-up once back in 2010. However last year, the Australian cricket team ended this long drought as they finally lifted the title in UAE.
With the win last year in tough conditions, Australia are very confident as this time, they have an upper hand on other teams due to home conditions. The confidence is apparent as they have gone with the same squad from last year’s world cup, with just one minor change in the batting department as star hitter Tim David has been included in place of leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson and rightfully so as there’s no need of an additional spinner in the squad as Australian conditions do not favor spin that much. With the inclusion of Tim David, the Australian batting lineup is more dangerous than ever in the shortest format. With the left-handed wizard David Warner and the in-form all-round maestro Cameron Green coming in as openers, the top order is lethal. The middle order is sorted as well, with dangerous Mitch Marsh and captain-cool Aaron Finch coming in at number 3 and 4 respectively, and Glenn Maxwell coming in at number 5 to decimate the opposition’s bowling lineup. The lethal lower order is Australia’s best lower order in T20Is by far, with a young Tim David causing carnage along with Matthew Wade who is in the form of his life wreaking havoc in all areas of the ground. With this monstrous batting lineup, The Australian Cricket team is the most dangerous team on paper, heading into the world cup and it feels like the prestigious trophy of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will be retained for the first time.
Australia will begin their World Cup campaign on Saturday the 22nd of October against rivals New Zealand in the epic Sydney Cricket Ground.