A look at the bowlers in contention to be selected in Australia's World Cup squad
World Cup squad contenders: bowlers
Australia selectors will in coming weeks pick the 15-man squad that will head to England in May to defend the World Cup.
It's a daunting task for the National Selection Panel of chairman Trevor Hohns, former captain Greg Chappell and head coach Justin Langer, who has already said there will be some "brutally unlucky" players to miss out.
Hohns has said up to 19 players are in the mix for the World Cup squad, while skipper Aaron Finch said the number of contenders could be as many as 21.
Below we look at the bowlers who are in contention for the World Cup with perhaps only six or seven spots available.
Pat Cummins
In the absence of injured pace pair Mitch Starc and Josh Hazlewood, Cummins has spearheaded the ODI attack and taken his game to a new level. Armed with the new ball, a weapon he went more than a year without, the right-armer has taken regular top-order wickets with speed, swing and seam. In the six ODIs he's played in 2019 he has taken a remarkable 17 wickets at 14.29, taking a wicket every 19.5 balls and conceding just 4.39 runs per over. Couple his talents with the ball with his ability as a lower-order batsman, Cummins could be the most important player in Australia's World Cup campaign.
Nathan Coulter-Nile
Having battled various injuries throughout his career, Coulter-Nile appears to be fit and firing at the right time. An athletic fast bowler blessed with pace and swing, the 31-year-old has been in top form this year in the ODI side. In five matches across the India and Pakistan series, the right-armer collected 10 wickets bowling with the new ball and in the closing stages when opposition betters are attempting to hit every ball to or over the rope. Like Cummins, he is a dangerous lower-order batter capable of clearing the rope and is perhaps Australia's most complete fielder alongside Glenn Maxwell.
Jason Behrendorff
The left-armer has had limited opportunities in the recent Asian tours playing in just four of 10 games on wickets that suited spin bowling. But in the games he played he was a threat with the new ball and finished the Pakistan series with 3-63, striking at both ends of the innings. Behrendorff has focused solely on white-ball cricket this season after coming back from injury and went straight from the UAE to the IPL to further push his World Cup claims. Whether Australia take two left-arm quicks to the World Cup remains to be seen, but Behrendorff should revel in English conditions if given a chance.
Kane Richardson
Richardson played just two matches on the UAE tour but proved his worth as a specialist death bowler with an economic penultimate over in the tense win over Pakistan in the fourth ODI in Dubai. The right-armer earned selection on the India and Pakistan tours after he finished the KFC BBL as the competition's leading wicket-taker for champions Melbourne Renegades. In the BBL, his knack of taking wickets with the new ball went a long way to the Renegades making the finals and winning the competition, but it's his skill finishing an innings that could prove his best chance for World Cup selection.
Jhye Richardson
The youngster was firing on all cylinders in a breakout summer but a shoulder injury has put his World Cup hopes in serious doubt. Richardson dislocated his right bowling shoulder in the field in the second ODI in Sharjah, with scans taken in Perth revealing the best possible outcome. The 22-year-old said on Friday he still hopes to prove his fitness for the World Cup and fortunately does not require surgery. The right-armer has had a terrific time in the ODI side in 2019, taking 17 wickets at 21.23 runs apiece in eight matches. He bowls at extreme pace, can move the ball both ways and has a variety of slower balls at his disposal.
Mitch Starc
Starc is back bowling after suffering a pectoral injury in the second Test against Sri Lanka and hopes to steaming in off his full run for Australia's practice matches against New Zealand in Brisbane in May. When bowling at the peak of his powers, Starc is perhaps the most feared white-ball bowler in the world, a lethal fast bowler with a damaging inswinger, an almost unplayable yorker and a knack of cleaning up the tail. He was the player of the tournament in the 2015 World Cup and is a certain starter if fit.
Josh Hazlewood
Coming off a back injury, Hazlewood's availability for the World Cup was up in the air until last week when the right-armer told The Unplayable Podcast he is tracking to be fit for the title defence. While he might not have a lot of game time ahead of Australia's first match against Afghanistan on June 1 in Bristol, the tall paceman knows what it takes to be successful at ODI level having previously been ranked the No.1 bowler in the 50-over format. Hazlewood played in the 2015 World Cup final and has the big game experience that could prove vital in England.
Adam Zampa
Zampa has been Australia's first-choice spinner this year and has rewarded that faith with 18 wickets in 11 innings to be his side's most prolific wicket-taker in 2019. The work he has done over the past 12 months since being left out of Australia's ODI tour to England has paid off and the leg-spinner has formed a strong partnership with veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon. Zampa also boasts experience bowling in England having played for Essex last season, which can only boost his World Cup credentials.
Nathan Lyon
Should Australia take two spinners to the World Cup it appears as though it will be Zampa and Lyon. The pair bowled in tandem in India and the UAE, and while Lyon's figures of eight wickets at 61.37 don't make for great reading, what the numbers don't say is how tight the off-spinner bowled. His economy rate of 4.91 is one of the best in the world in 2019 and allowed Zampa to attack from the other end. Selection chairman Hohns said Australia are strongly considering taking two spinners to the World Cup, which looks to be a good sign for Lyon.
Australia's World Cup fixtures
May 25: (warm-up) England v Australia, Southampton
May 27: (warm-up) Australia v Sri Lanka, Southampton
June 1: Afghanistan v Australia, Bristol (D/N)
June 6: Australia v West Indies, Trent Bridge
June 9: India v Australia, The Oval
June 12: Australia v Pakistan, Taunton
June 15: Sri Lanka v Australia, The Oval
June 20: Australia v Bangladesh, Trent Bridge
June 25: England v Australia, Lord's
June 29: New Zealand v Australia, Lord's (D/N)
July 6: Australia v South Africa, Old Trafford (D/N)
July 9: Semi-Final 1, Old Trafford
July 11: Semi-Final 2, Edgbaston
July 14: Final, Lord's
For a full list of all World Cup fixtures, click HERE