Aussies slide in rankings
ODI side relegated to sixth as it struggles in England
AUSTRALIA have arrived in Nottingham at one of the lowest points in their ODI history as they desperately try to keep their series against England alive at Trent Bridge.
Tim Paine’s side trails the world’s top-ranked team 2-0, having lost 4-1 when they met in Australia earlier this year.
And the news didn’t get any better for the Australians when the latest ICC one-day international rankings were released on Sunday.
A year out from the World Cup in England and Wales, the reigning champions have slumped to sixth, their lowest ranking in 34 years.
Australia has been overtaken by Pakistan’s Champions Trophy-winning side, which has replaced it in fifth.
Justin Langer’s first squad was always going to be up against it in the five-match series without its two best batsmen in Steve Smith and David Warner. Star quicks Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood are also sidelined through injury, leaving an inexperienced bowling attack tasked with trying to stifle an aggressive batting line-up.
AJ Tye, Jhye Richardson and Kane Richardson were pummelled by an aggressive England batting line-up in Cardiff on Saturday, as the hosts scored 8-342 — their highest total against Australia.
Shaun Marsh’s magnificent 131 was the highlight for the tourists but it wasn’t enough to prevent a 34-run defeat.
Marsh maintains team spirit is good but improvements must be made to avoid a firstever whitewash by England in a series of at least five matches.
“We felt like we were in the game right until the end, unfortunately we just weren’t good enough,” Marsh said.
“We probably lost wickets at key times in our innings again and we couldn’t really build big partnerships at the start. We’ll have to be better in a few days’ time.
“We know we need to improve a fair bit to get that win. We’re heading in the right direction but we still need lots of improvement.”
Giant quick Billy Stanlake is facing a race against time to be fit after losing a toenail on his landing foot after an encouraging display at The Oval.
Exciting wicketkeeperbatsman Alex Carey could also come into the side, with Travis Head potentially missing out after a pair of low scores in London and Cardiff.