Heat rises for quick as batsmen stick solid
AUSTRALIA will stick with the batting game plan that was questioned by Virat Kohli when they chase a 3-1 start to the cricket World Cup against Pakistan tonight.
Coach Justin Langer said he was “really confident” in the tactics that left his batsmen requiring 115 runs from 10 overs against India on Sunday, which Australia lost by 36.
Langer also gave Nathan Coulter-Nile (1-63) a tick, although it has emerged the third-seamer’s erratic first overs could see him dropped.
Coulter-Nile has combined figures of 0-43 from his past four first overs in games, conceding nine boundaries.
That stretch covers Australia’s three World Cup games plus the warm-up match against England.
Jason Behrendorff and Nathan Lyon put up their hands to replace Coulter-Nile at training in Taunton overnight. With the World Cup semi-finals still a month away, Langer said it was a “good thing” his team hadn’t clicked.
“We’ve got to keep getting better. We haven’t played the perfect game yet,” he said.
Kohli instructed his attack to bowl defensively after sensing openers Aaron Finch and David Warner were protecting their wickets.
Langer pointed out that both innings were structured similarly, with Australia’s 3-235 after 39 overs edging India’s 2-230.
“I’m not worried about our game style,” he said.
“At The Oval you can get 110 in the last 10 easy. We’re not saying to preserve wickets means you’ve got to block.”