Mitchell Marsh’s team made smooth progress through the group stage but could face a spin challenge in the Super Eight
Andrew McGlashan20-Jun-20242:14
Clarke: Not the right time for Warner’s Sandpapergate comments
Match detailsAustralia vs Bangladesh
Antigua, 8.30pm local timeBig PictureAustralia’s quest to unite ICC trophies across all three formats will now face an Asian challenge. First up it will be Bangladesh, a side they have never lost to in a global event which includes five meetings in the T20 World Cup.Australia’s progression to the Super Eight was expected and very smooth – they saved their slightly underpar performance for their fielding effort against Scotland, a game which held no consequences for them but plenty for the opposition, and England.Related
Shakib has arrived at the T20 World Cup, finally
Marsh available to bowl, Maxwell backs him to find batting form
For Bangladesh, expectations were low after their pre-tournament series loss to USA. They had to get out of a tough group that also included South Africa and Sri Lanka – the narrow win over the latter proved crucial, although there were some nervous moments against Nepal.How much further Bangladesh can go, and whether they can topple Australia, will likely come down to their batting order finding more productivity having struggled in, admittedly, some tricky conditions. None of their batters have yet to bring up 100 runs in the tournament and only Shakib Al Hasan has passed fifty. Towhid Hridoy has the highest strike-rate of 125.00.The contrast with Australia is stark: four of their top six are striking at over 140 with Marcus Stoinis motoring at an impressive 190.24. Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell have yet to hit their stride – if they also find top gear, it’s an intimidating batting order.The depth in Australia’s attack is considerable, too. Nathan Ellis had three outings during the group stage and was impressive in each of them, but is likely to remain behind the big three.Form guide(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Australia WWWWW
Bangladesh WWLWWRishad Hossain has added another dimension to Bangladesh’s attack•AFP via Getty Images
In the spotlight: Travis Head and Rishad Hossain As he was in the ODI World Cup, after a delayed start due to injury, Travis Head has been front and centre of Australia’s success. The Super Eight stage could be an interesting insight into an area of his game he has worked on: his play against spin. It’s something that brought impressive results at the IPL where he finished with a strike-rate of 164.51, but England were sucked into opening the bowling with Moeen Ali and Will Jacks which did not go well. Bangladesh have a good hand of pace bowlers, but could they be tempted into some powerplay spin against Head?Australia have a reasonable amount of experience against most of Bangladesh’s attack, but they have not faced legspinner Rishad Hossain so he could provide a new challenge. Rishad is making waves as a rare wristspinner in the Bangladesh game and has been impressive in this tournament with seven wickets at 14.57 and an economy of 6.80. His perfect legbreak to have Wanindu Hasaranga taken at slip generated plenty of excitement. However, over the last year and a half, Australia have fared well against right-arm wristspin with a strike-rate of 144.02, the third highest of all teams facing a minimum 150 deliveries where data is available since the start of 2023.1:28
Tamim: ‘Bangladesh batters need to apply themselves better’
Team news: Balance question for AustraliaMitchell Marsh didn’t reveal his team the day before the game, but there is only one decision for Australia to make – whether to go with three frontline quicks or two frontline spinners. The former would seem the likely route.Australia (possible) 1 David Warner, 2 Travis Head, 3 Mitchell Marsh (capt), 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Tim David, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh HazlewoodChandika Hathurusinghe, who knows a number of the Australia players well from his time working with New South Wales, was giving little away ahead of the match but an unchanged XI is expected. “It all depends on the condition,” he said. “It is probably a little bit of opposition as well. We will take that into account, their limitation. And of course we play to our strengths.”Bangladesh (possible) 1 Tanzid Hasan, 2 Litton Das (wk), 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), 4 Shakib Al Hasan, 5 Towhid Hridoy, 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Jaker Ali, 8 Tanzim Shakib, 9 Rishad Hossain, 10 Taskin Ahmed, 11 Mustafizur RahmanPitch and conditionsNorth Sound has the second-highest batting strike-rate of venues used during this tournament so has been one of the better grounds for batters. The breeze can play a key factor. There is a chance of showers but nothing too severe.Stats that matter This match pits together the batter with the highest-strike of the tournament (min 30 balls faced), Marcus Stoinis, and the second-most economical bowler (min 10 overs) in Mustafizur Rahman. Shakib Al Hasan needs two wickets for 150 in T20Is Bangladesh have the lowest collective run rate of the Super Eight teamsQuotes”They’re obviously playing some good cricket and we know in these conditions that Bangladesh are a strong team. So, we’ve got a lot of respect for them and hopefully we can bring our A game.”
Mitchell Marsh“Lately the pitches have been very challenging for batsmen in many places. And it’s very hard to read the pitches as well. We thought in St. Vincent the pitches were good, and then it turned out to be very difficult. And more bowler-friendly, not only pace or spin, both, it’s hard for the batters.”Chandika Hathurusinghe
