Australia's bowling unit may have some of the biggest names in world cricket right now, but don't be fooled - it's their Achilles' heel. When Zampa is your most T20-style bowler, it's usually a red flag. Outside of the powerplay, teams with solid back-foot players are starting to figure out Hazlewood's bowling style, whereas Cummins would struggle to find a spot in the T20 XI if it weren't for his big-name reputation and all-round value.Hazlewood's splits: A cause for concernT20I career:vs ENG-IND-SA: 50-1-480-13 (37/9.6)vs REST: 88.4-3-557-40 (14/6.5)In the last 10 games:vs IND and ENG: 16-0-174-4vs WI and SL: 16-2-95-5Mitchell Starc's limited overs bowling abilities haven't improved over the years, and he's one of the world's most expensive bowlers at the moment. With an economy rate of 8.7, the left-arm quick ranks ninth among the 74 bowlers who have bowled more than 15 innings since 2021. And this despite the fact that Australia used the vast majority of his overs in the first 16 and not in the 2-2 or 1-1-2 templates.They also have a problem with the fifth bowler. While Maxwell will make it easier to manage against teams with a lot of left-handed batters, they will have to try to get at least three overs out of Marcus Stoinis and Mitchell Marsh - two pacers as gentle as pace can get - against RHB-heavy teams like India.If the pitch favours spin and David Warner is out early, Australia will struggle to deal with slow bowlers, especially with Glenn Maxwell out and Tim David batting only at No.6.
Rating Scale Explainer
BATTINGBatting Quality - A match-winner each in the top (No.1-2), middle (No.3-4) and lower-middle order (No.5-7) Batting Depth - A minimum of 8 batting options Complementary openers - Opening pair to be complemented by both hand and type Spin Hitting - Exceptional hitting ability vs spin in the middle order (No.3-5) Pace Hitting - Exceptional hitting ability vs pace by lower middle order (No.5-7) BOWLINGNew ball Pace - At least 20 balls of quality seam and swing bowling ability up front Express Pace and HTD - At least 20 hit-the-deck balls at 140+kph between Overs 7 and 16 Death Bowling - A well-balanced blend of yorkers, slow balls, and hard length at a pace ranging from 17 to 20 overs. Bowling Depth - At least six 4-over options Spin (Quality & Complementary) - Both away-spin (SLA/wrist-spin) and in-spin (off-spin); Quality - Self explanatory
Squad Home
Records from the last three years are not as useful as most people believe, so I like breaking them down into three individual years to assess how a player has performed/progressed - whether his average of 40, for example, is the result of one spectacular year or two good years, and so on. This is why we went into such great detail here.The "in Australia" category is self-explanatory. The World Cup is being held in Australia, which has very different conditions than the rest of the world. As a result, a player's record in the country offers substantial value in helping you understand more about the individual.
Form - Based on player performance in the 10 games leading up to the World Cup.
Fantasy Board
Rank 1-11: D Warner, J Hazlewood, M Stoinis, M Marsh, A Zampa, M Starc, G Maxwell, A Finch, P Cummins, M Wade, T DavidDavid Warner is a no-brainer for the No. 1 spot here - he's an exceptional all-round, all-conditions player.Australia uses their pace trio in an unusual way, which has a negative impact on Starc's fantasy potential. From a fantasy standpoint, whether or not Starc is one of the world's most expensive bowlers is irrelevant, as most scoring systems happily reward "junk" wickets. But it is to this cheap wicket potential that Australia's usage poses a threat to: instead of bowling two of his overs at the death like most teams use their biggest name bowler, Aaron Finch and Co. adopt a 1-2-1 template. And given how easy it is to get wickets at the death, that's a major fantasy downer.This is also why Marcus Stoinis, the only fit pace bowling all-rounder in the Australian XI at the moment, has a higher fantasy potential than usual; in some of the games, the 33-year-old will be asked to bowl an over at the death. Hazlewood, the man the hosts usually turn to at the end, benefits from this as well.Glenn Maxwell would have been a huge asset if it hadn't been for his batting form, and Mitchell Marsh's fantasy value will rise once he's fit to bowl. Consider prioritising Matthew Wade if you're using scoring systems that reward SR well.Top Pick(s): David WarnerTop Budget Pick(s): NoneTop Differential(s): None Steal(s): Marcus Stoinis
Fantasy Cheat Sheet
It is simple: if you are not in the world of House of the Dragon, then the colour green is your friend. So whether it's season or daily fantasy, go with the player who has the most greens.All stats since 2021Sheet KeyM - Matches PlayedBF - Balls FacedBFPM - Balls Faced Per MatchRuns - Runs ScoredRSPM - Runs Scored Per MatchBat SR - Batting Strike RateOvers - Overs BowledOBPM - Overs Bowled Per MatchWickets - Wickets TakenWTPM - Wickets Taken Per MatchBowl SR - Bowling Strike RateER - Economy RateC - Catches
Matchups that Matter
Green – Good; Yellow – Average; Red – Poor This is my favourite part of the whole thing, and you can learn a lot from it. It's a particularly effective tool to have before game day. Here are some observations, for example:How to counter Australia - To counter Australia, you must first neutralise Warner, so here is your best shot at him:
Left-arm pacers who can move the ball in the powerplay
Pacers who can crank it
Then, in general, especially once Warner is gone, use a combination of SLAO, legspin, and raw pace between Overs 7 and 16.No off-spin at all costs, unless the deck assists spinners.Use a lot of right-handers from the top to the bottom of the batting order. This is what it does:
With the exception of Josh Hazlewood, it weakens the majority of their main bowlers.
Takes away Maxwell's off-spin value, forcing Finch to bowl Marcus Stoinis and Mitchell Marsh's gentle pace.
From a fantasy standpoint, here's how to take advantage of this:
Select left-handed new ball quicks against Australia.
Consider dropping Warner from 50% of your lineups against teams that have high-quality left-arm new ball pace bowlers like Trent Boult, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Sheldon Cottrell, especially if they also have the express pace of Lockie Ferguson and Haris Rauf.
Choose legspinners and SLAO all-rounders if the deck even hints at assisting spin.
Select express pacers such as Haris Rauf, Lockie Ferguson, and Anrich Nortje.
Pick star right-handers.
Avoid left-handers unless they are absolutely world-class against new ball swing and off-spin.