Australia face a crunch clash against Netherlands with the race for a spot in the knockout stages at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 heating up.
Date and Venue
Wednesday 25 October, Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
Summary
Australia have struck form in recent times with consecutive victories over Sri Lanka and Pakistan helping the five-time champions move to fourth on the standings and into what would be the final qualification spot for the semi-finals.
They will be keen to maintain that momentum with another victory in Delhi and the likely return of in-form batter Travis Head will provide Australia with a timely boost against an extremely dangerous Netherlands outfit.
Netherlands shocked South Africa with a 38-run triumph in Dharamsala and will be looking for another big scalp in the form of Australia.
Skipper Scott Edwards has been leading from the front for the Netherlands thus far with a total of 124 runs, while star all-rounder Bas de Leede has seven wickets to be the team’s top wicket-taker.
This pair will need to be at their best if the Netherlands are to cause an upset over the highly-fancied Australia.
Squads
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Sean Abbott, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc.
Netherlands squad: Scott Edwards (c), Max O’Dowd, Bas de Leede, Vikram Singh, Teja Nidamanuru, Paul van Meekeren, Colin Ackermann, Roelof van der Merwe, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Ryan Klein, Wesley Barresi, Saqib Zulfiqar, Shariz Ahmad, Sybrand Engelbrecht.
Key players
Australia – Adam Zampa
Australia’s premier spinner is coming into strong form at just the right time, having taken consecutive four-wicket hauls against Sri Lanka and Pakistan in his two most recent appearances.
Zampa has his wrong-un working a treat and a niggling back concern has hardly been noticed as the right-armer has collected figures of 4/47 and 4/53 in consecutive matches.
The leggie will be hoping for another similar performance against the Dutch and his spell during the middle overs will be crucial to the outcome of the match.
Netherlands – Max O’Dowd
The Dutch have got some good performances from their top six already in India, but their dynamic opener in O’Dowd is yet to really hit his straps with no scores greater than the 18 he managed against South Africa.
O’Dowd is capable of scoring quickly when on song and the Netherlands will be hoping it all clicks for the right-hander against the powerful Australia bowling line-up.
If O’Dowd can give the Dutch a fast start then there is a good chance the side will be able to post a competitive total.