A few months ago, you could have got long odds on Australia winning this summer’s cricket World Cup. Still reeling from the loss of key players Steven Smith and David Warner after their twelve-month ban, Australia limped from defeat to defeat in the fifty-over format.
A series of fringe players tried, and largely failed, to grab their opportunities and with the line-up continually in flux, it was impossible for stand-in captain Aaron Finch and his team to build any consistency.
But when viewers tune in to watch the World Cup coverage on BT Sport, they will find that Australia are ranked among the favourites. Many bookmakers now rank them as short as 9/2 third favourites for the World Cup trophy, not far behind second favourites India, and the 5/2 favourites England.
This turnaround in their World Cup prospects has been dramatic, but there is no doubt that it is real. Trailing 2-0 in a five-match series in India, the Aussies defied the odds to win the final three games of the series to win it 3-2. Buoyed by that success, they headed to the UAE and delivered a five-nil thrashing to Pakistan. It is true that neither India nor Pakistan were playing their full first choice line-ups, but then, given the absences of Smith and Warner, neither were Australia.
There are still some issues to be resolved. The re-integration of the returning duo will be key, with the likes of Usman Khawaja and Peter Handscomb potentially being asked to stand aside in their favour. That has to be handled well. It is also fair to say that Australia haven’t yet fully caught up with the way that fifty over cricket is played, as exemplified by an England team that routinely scores over 350. But they are no far off, and, given the talent in their ranks, they are a realistic bet this summer.
And, in truth, it would be odd if the Aussies weren’t regarded as serious contenders for World Cup glory, given the extent to which they have dominated it over the years. In fact, their hold over this event extends beyond that period in international cricket, from the mid-1990s to the midmid-2000s when they ruled the roost. Yes, they won the World Cup in 1999, 2003 and 2007. But they also won it a few years prior to their spell as the world’s best team, in 1987, and they won it again last time, in 2015, when they had long ago been dislodged from their pedestal as the best Test team.
In short, Australia have history with this tournament. Seven final appearances and five wins in the eleven World Cups to date is an astonishing record. As the tournament draws closer, there will be many cricket fans heading to the BigBetBookmakers site to find the best odds on an Australian win, and no-one should be surprised if the men in gold and green are lifting the trophy on July 14.
