Pacy, bouncy Windies set to defy all odds in Aussies clash

– last clashed in ODIs in 2016

By Brandon Corlette

After that inspirational performance by the West Indies in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket World Cup opener against Pakistan, the entire Caribbean is upbeat about defeating any opponent.

The next challenge for the Jason Holder-led side will be against Australia tomorrow, Thursday, June 6, 2019.
With the exclusion of the warm-up match against Australia prior to the World Cup, these two teams last played in a One-Day International (ODI) in 2016, in the tri-nation series in the Caribbean. In that series, South Africa and Australia visited the Caribbean, and the Aussies defeated West Indies in the final.
That performance seemed a lifetime ago as the Aussies were making a mark under the leadership of Steven Smith, who has been replaced as Captain by Aaron Finch. West Indies, who unapologetically made it evident that they will play aggressive cricket and fight fire with fire, will have to use a different ploy to overthrow the defending World Cup Champions.

The short-ball ploy saw the Windies defeat the Pakistanis for 105 runs in a seven-wicket victory. Finch and his Australian team have also responded that they will fight fire with fire. Both teams are equipped with vicious fast bowlers, but will the experienced of the lot end up on the winning side?
Pat Cummins, the world number six ODI bowler, will lead the Aussie pace pack that features Mitchell Starc, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Kane and Jhye Richardson, Jason Behrendoff and Marcus Stoins. In the 2015 World Cup, Starc was the leading wicket-taker, but after he suffered some injuries, Cummins took the mantle to lead the attack.
Meanwhile, the West Indies pace battery includes the brisk Oshane Thomas, who can easily touch 90 miles per hour; the aggressive Andre Russell; Sheldon Cottrell; Shannon Gabriel and Kemar Roach while Jason Holder and Carlos Brathwaite are the other seaming options.

After the opening match against Pakistan, Russell made his intentions clear, “I’m not going to change anything, I’m going to be aggressive but be smart about it,” he detailed. Prior to the Pakistan match that saw the big Jamaican starting the proceedings with the short ball, he used the exact ploy in the warm-up match.
Russell hit the Aussie number three, Usman Khawaja in the jaw with a bouncer. This mouth-watering clash between the Aussies and West Indies will be a serious one. The pace ace, Cummins also detailed that he has his eyes set on the veteran Chris Gayle. The self-proclaimed Universe Boss, Gayle is swiftly approaching his 40th birthday, but he is currently in top form, scoring six consecutive ODI scores of fifty plus.

What must be considered is that Pakistan failed to cope with the bouncers, since they are usually spin-dominators like most Asian sides. In contrast to the Aussies, they will be as equally upbeat and confident since their batsmen who play most of their cricket on fast bouncy wickets will be more capable of facing the short balls.
The Aussie captain, Finch, who was the first man to score a century in the ICC World Cup in 2015, also explained the importance of short balls. Around the grounds in England, most of the straight boundaries are short and the long boundaries are often square of the wicket. At some point, the batsmen will mistime one and find a fielder.
Australia are the higher-ranked opponents and history are on their side, but West Indies are the official dark horses. Australia have won four of their last five ODIs against West Indies, but both teams will be looking to continue their winning ways when they meet at Nottingham from 05:30h local time.