Match 17: Warner, Cummins and Fielding Save Australia from Disaster

Australia has somehow managed to bumble its way to a necessary but hardly dominating victory over Pakistan in their World Cup clash overnight, and though there were elements that shone through that could be taken as positives one wonders just how much the other teams in the tournament have gleaned from their inability to finish off at different stages of the match.

• Batting first was never going to be easy but once again Finch and Warner made the best of a difficult situation. On a pitch that didn’t offer as much as it looked as though it would at the toss, the opening partnership put their team in a great position, putting on 146 runs in the first 22 overs to set the innings up for a massive score. Neither had it their own way, and they both had their share of luck when it came to play and misses and some old school Pakistan fielding and catching, but they made the most of what they were offered and did the job they were required to do.
• On the other side, Mohammed Amir gave a masterclass of fast seam bowling. Bowling on the right length and in the right corridor he consistently beat the bat to the point of perpetual frustration for the Pakistan team. He beat the outside edge, he beat the inside edge, he shaved the stumps, he did everything but get that initial breakthrough. His first spell was superb but the lack of support at the other end hurt him dialling up the pressure. He then came back, and in his next two spells picked up a wicket with his first ball, and eventually finished with 5/30 from his ten overs. Not only did he stifle the Australians with few chances to score and by taking wickets, he almost solely drew back what should have been a massive score to a chasable one. All aspiring fast bowlers should take the vision of that spell and bottle it.
• Australia’s batsmen caused much of their own misery, with their shot selection at crucial times costing the team the momentum they craved. Finch got carried away when he was on top, and instead of seeing off the returning Amir as the threat he was tried to put him to the boundary and lost. Smith and Warner had moved along smoothly and there was no need to do anything rash when he lost his wicket to the inoffensive part time spin of Hafeez. Maxwell started brilliantly against spin and was then undone by pace without giving himself time to have a look. Marsh and Khawaja both also failed to identify the Amir threat and lost their wickets instead of just pushing him around for singles when he had so few overs left to bowl. At 2/220 in the 34th over Australia should have been looking at 350 as a minimum, and probably closer to 380. To be bowled out for 307 in 49 overs once again showed that they cannot be a real threat for this tournament without a change in the batting philosophy in the middle order.
• David Warner capped his comeback with the century he craved, though he had help from the Pakistan fielding which gave up numerous misfields and several dropped chances. Added to the poor discipline of the bowlers outside of Amir and it is remarkable that they only had to chase 307. Indeed at the halfway mark they had to be favourites to take the game which was an impossibility with an hour left of the innings.
• Australia’s bowlers once again showed that they can be penetrative but that the discipline is still not what they would like. The early difference was Australia’s catching was terrific, as three of the first four batsmen were caught right on the small Taunton boundaries. Alex Carey put his poor game with the gloves against India behind him by snaring four catches here, with one off the inside edge from the bowling of Cummins a beauty. And the final wicket to fall to a singular piece of brilliance from Maxwell to run out the Pakistan captain really told the tale of the difference between the two teams – not the batting, not the bowling, but the fielding. Another great lesson for all kids out there.
• At 6/160 off 30 overs though this game should have been wrapped up, but again Australia’s bowling tactics hurt them, bowling too short to the tail and allowing Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz and Sarfaraz Ahmed to get themselves within an outside chance of victory. The 7th and 8th wickets added 104 from 14 overs and with 44 runs needed from 6 overs Pakistan looked to do the impossible again. There was clean striking sure, but once again the watcher was left wondering if Australia will ever learn how to close out an innings without bowling short at the tail end, and concentrate on bowling at the stumps. 

Australia may have won, but the questions over their batsmen finishing off an innings, and their bowlers doing the same, remain. They couldn’t beat India because of this, and they will struggle to defeat England and New Zealand for the same reasons. The third and fourth bowling options are still shaky, and the middle order combination still needs to be settled. For Pakistan the loss just complements their usual story – when they fire they are unbeatable, when they field like a bush 4th grade team they cannot overcome those odds.