World Cup ‘attrition’ leaves Aussies with missing pieces

England's horror tournament has meant the first contest against Australia since a spiteful Ashes series will not be the high-stakes spectacle tournament organisers hoped for when they scheduled them to meet at the colossal Indian venue Pat Cummins likened to the MCG.

That much was clear even before Australia landed in Ahmedabad on the same day England suffered their latest humiliation, bowled out 100 runs short of a modest India total in Lucknow.

What this match now also won’t be is the unveiling of Australia's first-choice team. Whether they get a chance to assemble it before the semi-finals – and whether that matters – shapes as the most pressing concern in their tilt for a sixth men's 50-over title.

This should have been the first time Australia had all 15 of their squad members available. What should have been the final two pieces of the puzzle, Travis Head, whose fluency against New Zealand in his return from a broken hand surprised even teammates, and Marcus Stoinis, whose long training stints this week suggest he has overcome the latest of a series of lower-body concerns, are back in place.

But, having dealt with their World Cup personnel issues so deftly to date, Australia now have two more to consider. In the space of 24 hours, Glenn Maxwell (who fell off the back of a golf cart) and Mitch Marsh (personal reasons) were ruled out of the England match.

"To be honest once the tournament started, we kind of thought we'd have 15 available," Cummins told reporters. "But one-day cricket, more than any other format, you have injuries. It's high intensity, games are close together. We always knew there was going to be a certain amount of attrition.

"The good thing is we're still three games away from the semis. We need to obviously make the semi-finals, but hopefully this is the last little hiccup where we've got a smaller squad to pick from and then once we get closer, we've got a full squad.

"I've kind of got in my mind the main XI, the way that we want to play.

"But really happy with our squad and I think we've shown throughout this tournament we've been able to mix up the batting order and anyone that's come in has stepped up and done really well."

It was revealing that Cummins also suggested Australia are yet to field the same XI in consecutive matches at this tournament. They had, in fact, picked the same team for three straight games against South Africa, Sri Lanka, then Pakistan. It highlights a sense that they have always had a missing piece.

Usually in long white-ball tournaments or Test series, it is the bowlers who need to be rotated. Instead, the moving parts for the Aussies, who have fielded the same four frontline bowlers for the whole World Cup, continues to be in their middle order.

The absence of Marsh (away indefinitely) and Maxwell (who could return against Afghanistan on Tuesday) delays what appears to be a call between Marnus Labuschagne's improved 50-over batting skills and Stoinis' all-round abilities for the final spot in Australia's first-choice side.

For now, Steve Smith and Labuschagne are respectively back in the three and four slots that look to suit them more than four and five. Both have performed better at this World Cup when they have come in earlier. They have averaged over 40 when arriving at the crease before the 15th over and about half that when they come in later.

Stoinis has not scored an ODI fifty since the last ODI World Cup four years ago and has averaged 18 in that time, but his strike-rate over (102) has previously seen him preferred to Labuschagne, who has averaged more (36) but scored slower (strike rate of 87) over the same period.

Labuschagne is confident he has improved his dynamism and can navigate the middle overs effectively. "I would like to think that that's my area of expertise," he said this week. "It's just about being able to play the different scenarios at the different times of the game, and that's where I think I can add a lot of value to this team."

Whether it is Stoinis or Labuschagne in that final spot, and even if Australia can get all the other pieces available at the same time, the first time that best XI Cummins has in mind plays together will be at this World Cup.

"We knew at the start of the tournament we were going to need a full squad of 15," said Cummins. "It's kind of unfortunate, but we knew over a two-month tournament you're going to have to chop and change a bit."

Given the shifting parts and Cummins’ endorsement of a growing feeling that squad sizes need to be expanded for tournaments as long as this one, Australia's touring party has held up remarkably well.

Their gamble of carrying Head through the first half of the tournament paid off with his spectacular return against New Zealand. Before that, Marsh had slotted in seamlessly as David Warner's opening partner. Josh Inglis did likewise in the middle order when Australia dropped their wicketkeeper, Alex Carey, for the first time ever at a men's World Cup. Adam Zampa played through pain to ensure they were not left wanting by electing not to pick a back-up spinner.

The decision to go all-in on allrounders has meant the loss of Marsh and Maxwell, as important as that pair have been in turning around the team's fortunes since opening their campaign with back-to-back losses, should be a shortfall they can cover.

Stoinis' body looks to have come good at the right time after missing three of the first six games while Cameron Green, despite not making an impact in his two games so far, is no longer a greenhorn with 22 ODIs to his name. Both look set to play against England.

India, the tournament's clear standout team, might look on with envy. With Hardik Pandya out with injury, the only chink in their armour is that none of their batters can bowl and aside from Ravindra Jadeja none of their bowlers can bat.

"We've played a lot of ODIs over the last couple of months so it feels like everyone's coming in with lots of game time behind them," said Cummins.

"The good thing with our team is we've got plenty of allrounders so out there in the field I always feel like there's plenty of options we can go to. I think that's always the hardest thing in 50-over cricket, finding 50 overs of bowling. But I feel like we've got plenty of resources."

Cummins admits a win over England at the 121,000-seater Narendra Modi Stadium will mean more than beating any of the other eight teams at this World Cup. The teams are on opposite ends of the standings but there is enough on the line.

An Australian win would make it difficult for them to miss the semi-finals, while England will be in a dogfight to qualify for the Champions Trophy if they lose.

"It helps our chances to get into the semi so that's probably the overarching feeling of winning this one," said Cummins.

"It's been an old rivalry so, you're not going to lie, it's probably just that little bit sweeter than beating other teams, and the same with their history of how well they've done in white ball cricket."

Australia's 2023 ODI World Cup fixtures

October 8: Lost to India by six wickets

October 12: Lost to South Africa by 134 runs

October 16: Defeated Sri Lanka by five wickets

October 20: Defeated Pakistan by 62 runs

October 25: Defeated Netherlands by 309 runs

October 28: Defeated New Zealand by five runs

November 4: v England, Ahmedabad (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

November 7: v Afghanistan, Mumbai (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

November 11: v Bangladesh, Pune, 4pm AEDT

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa