Big picture: Beleaguered Australia aim to avoid more humiliation
No one, not even sceptics, could have possibly predicted Australia would be in this humbling position. After a nightmarish week, having been soundly beaten by Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, Australia’s T20 World Cup dreams are over in the blink of an eye.For the first time since 2009, Australia have been knocked out at the group stage but, instead of flying home and licking their wounds, they have the ignominy of having to front up against Oman in a match with very little meaning.Even just a week ago, this match was merely being viewed as a tune-up for Australia ahead of more formidable challenges in the Super Eight stage. But, instead, it’s been a disastrous campaign marked by injuries, questionable selections and out of form players.
It has been widely noted that the T20 World Cup has received little attention in Australia as the sporting focus shifts to the upcoming AFL and NRL seasons.
But Australia’s disaster has shaken the public from its stupor with the backlash fierce and the recriminations have well and truly started. Australia’s plight, remarkably, can get even worse if they were to be upset by Oman, who have been thrashed by Zimbabwe, Ireland and Sri Lanka so far.
Australia have never lost to an Associate nation in T20I cricket, but were pushed by a spirited Oman side at the 2024 World Cup in the only meeting between the teams.Time will tell but with the next major global events in the format not until 2028, the match could prove to be the international swansongs for veterans Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis.
Even though Australia’s title hopes are over, there is significant pressure on them to finish this wretched campaign on a winning note.
Form guide
AustraliaLLWLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Oman LLLWW
In the spotlight: Adam Zampa and Jatinder Singh
For the first time in two-and-a-half years, Adam Zampa went wicketless in back-to-back T20Is after figures of 0 for 72 off 8 overs against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. He had a particularly ragged performance against Sri Lanka where he could not find his rhythm. Zampa started with two long hops in his first over and things did not improve as he was unable to halt Sri Lanka’s batters, finishing with 0-41 off 4 overs. If Australia were to go deep in the tournament, Zampa really needed to produce a monster effort for a shorthanded and inexperienced attack. Such a talismanic figure over the years – his 143 T20I wickets are 64 more than next best Josh Hazlewood on Australia’s all-time list – it has been jarring to see Zampa out of sync in what should be favourable conditions for him. Turning 34 next month, Zampa’s future might start being under scrutiny. He’ll be keen to show he still has plenty left in the tank.
Jatinder Singh is yet to fire in this World Cup•AFP/Getty Images
For Oman to have been competitive at this World Cup, skipper Jatinder Singh needed to have fired at the top of the order. He’s their all-time leading scorer in T20Is and ODIs but has just not gotten going with scores of 5, 1 and 7 across three games. He will be hoping to finish the tournament with a bang and if he can regain his touch then there might be runs on offer in good batting conditions against an underperforming Australia attack.
Team news
Interest will be primarily on Steven Smith, who was contentiously overlooked against Sri Lanka despite the ballyhoo over him being drafted into the squad. It feels like the horse has bolted and it probably does not make much sense selecting Smith for what amounts to a dead rubber.
Matt Renshaw was incredibly unlucky to have been dropped against Sri Lanka after being Australia’s leading run-scorer across the opening two games and he is likely to return. Who he replaces will probably come down Maxwell and Cameron Green, who have both struggled in this tournament.
Specialist spinner Matt Kuhnemann was also considered unlucky to miss against Sri Lanka and he is likely to be recalled at the expense of spinning allrounder Cooper Connolly, who is terribly out of form with the bat and is wicketless across six overs from his two appearances in the tournament.
Australia (Probable): 1 Mitchell Marsh (capt), 2 Travis Head, 3 Josh Inglis (wk), 4 Tim David, 5 Matt Renshaw, 6 Marcus Stoinis, 7 Glenn Maxwell/Cameron Green, 8 Xavier Bartlett, 9 Nathan Ellis, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Matt Kuhnemann
Steven Smith was brought into the squad but not played a game yet•Getty Images
Ashish Odedara made just one run at No. 3 after replacing Wasim Ali against Ireland. But he is likely to get another chance after he suffered a calamitous run out following a mix-up with Aamir Kaleem.
Oman (Probable): 1 Jatinder Singh (capt), 2 Aamir Kaleem, 3 Hammad Mirza, 4 Wasim Ali/Asish Odedara, 5 Mohammad Nadeem, 6 Jiten Ramanandi, 7 Vinayak Shukla (wk), 8 Sufyan Mehmood, 9 Nadeem Khan, 10 Shah Faisal, 11 Shakeel Ahmed
Pitch and conditions
Both teams have played at Pallekele – both succumbed to Sri Lanka – and the pitch was very good for batting in those matches. Dew was a factor in the last match with Sri Lanka chasing down 182 against Australia with relative ease.
There is rain forecast during the day, but should clear by the start of this night fixture with the match set to be played amid Kandy’s renowned humidity.
Stats and trivia
- Glenn Maxwell is 103 away from becoming the third Australian to reach 3000 T20I runs and he’s one away from being the eighth bowler from his nation to claim 50 wickets in the format.
- Aamir Kaleem currently has 49 wickets. Only three Oman players have taken at least 50 wickets in T20I cricket.
- Australia have an 8-0 record against Associate nations in T20I cricket, including beating Ireland – who were still five years away from Full Member status – at the 2012 World Cup.
Quotes
“We’ve got a pretty sort of devastated group, it’s fair to say. I mean the motivation is you’re still playing a World Cup game for your country, so we’ve got to plan and prepare accordingly.”
Australia head coach Andrew McDonald.
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth
