(Cricket news) The crushing nature of Australia's loss to New Zealand in the opening match of the group has put them in a very difficult position, not only the result but also impacted their NRR. The tournament hosts now know that they cannot afford to lose a game as two defeats in the tournament means the chance of the team’s qualification are slim but it will likely take a lot of fortune for Australia to qualify with just three wins in the Super 12 group stage.
The chances of a successful title defence looks very unlikely even after their win over Sri Lanka in Perth particularly because of Marcus Stoinis’ late show which saw them chase down the target with more than three overs remaining and helping their NRR deficit in the process. England’s surprising loss to Ireland and the washout between the Aussies and English in Melbourne, means that the run rate looks increasingly likely to be a factor during qualification to the semi finals.
Australia’s three games have a Net run rate of -1.555 which is subsequently the worst in the group. The final two matches are against lower ranked countries in the group, Afghanistan and Ireland, which means Australia has an edge when it comes down to the run rate. It could well come down to run rate and against Afghanistan then need to record a comprehensive win after England got a 5 wicket win over them.
With Australia having theoretically the easier fixtures, Buttler and co are also in danger of falling prey to the scoring rate if they fail to win big in their next match. England do have the edge in the NRR conundrum but their qualification hopes are still alive at that stage as England will know exactly what they need against Sri Lanka to qualify.
Australia will be desperate to avoid injuries at the business end of the World Cup on the horizon. Wade has reported only minor symptoms as Australia are playing with fire given that their initial back-up wicketkeeper Josh Inglis injured his hand and was instead replaced by allrounder Cameron Green. Under ICC rules for the tournament, Australia could temporarily replace Wade with a specialist keeper but the 34-year-old would not be able to play in again until he returns from a negative PCR test.
Also read: Phillips, Boult power New Zealand to big win over Sri Lanka
