ICC Champions Trophy 2017: 5 reasons why Australia did not make it to the semi-final

Even before they announced their 15-member squad which would attempt bringing home a third Champions Trophy title after consecutive ones in 2006 and 2009, there were huge expectations from the Australian outfit to repeat their heroics in the 2017 edition.

Their strengths included a highly bankable top order comprising David Warner and Steven Smith, besides possessing a battery of dangerous fast bowlers in Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and James Pattinson. However, much to the disappointment of their supporters, Australia fell short of a semi-final place, five reasons for which have been mentioned.

#1 Lacklustre performance against England

Australia started the Champions Trophy as favourites, but wash-outs against New Zealand and Bangladesh left their fate hanging. Thus, defeating a strong England unit remained the only way out for them to qualify for the semi-finals.

The must-win match began well for Australia after they were 136/1. But as Aaron Finch attempted to accelerate, he fell for a well-compiled 68. That pulled the trigger for England, and ten overs later, Australia sat at 181/4. Travis Head and Glenn Maxwell joined hands to tally 58, but a splendid Jason Roy catch ended Maxwell’s stay and commenced another Australian collapse.

Mark Wood, with a career-best 4/33, and Adil Rashid, who got 4/41, made Australia stare at a below-par score, but a late assault from Head, who remained unbeaten on 71, dragged the Aussies to 277/9.

The English chase started nervously with the score 35/3, before which Eoin Morgan had been dropped already by Matthew Wade. But then the Australian bowlers were either too short or too full, as Morgan and Ben Stokes bashed the bowling at will and for the first time as captain, Steven Smith looked clueless.

Jos Buttler survived twice when Maxwell dropped a sitter and Pat Cummins misjudged one. England won by 40 runs through DLS, and it was a shame that Australia’s only result-oriented match also ended in rain.

#2 The selection of Moises Henriques

Picking Moises Henriques was a gamble which failed for Australia

A debatable choice in the Australian squad was that of all-rounder Moises Henriques. With merely 8 ODIs and a mediocre domestic record, picking Henriques was a gamble which failed miserably. Instead, the selectors should have opted for the experienced James Faulkner, who has not only developed himself into a destructive finisher is also a highly effective death bowler.

Also, choosing Henriques in the eleven proved futile. Against New Zealand, Australia started with a trio of pacers alongside bowling all-rounder John Hastings. Among other bowling options available were Glenn Maxwell, Travis Head and the rarely used Steven Smith. Yet, Australia gave Henriques a go and benched the explosive Chris Lynn, who can destroy the bowling with hefty blows early in the innings.

Another major blunder was allotting Henriques the number four slot. Used to batting much lower, facing two relatively new balls was always challenging, and Henriques managed scores of 18 – his career-best – and 17. Rather, Lynn at three and Smith at four would have allowed Australia to go big from the beginning, and a more comfortable position for the team would have been Henriques at seven.

With the ball, he was trusted for only 12 overs, with only one wicket against his name. Faulkner’s absence was felt, and Australia now have some thinking to do.

#3 Wash out against Bangladesh

Just four overs away from a result, the match between Australia and Bangladesh was rained out

Following an abandoned game against New Zealand, Steven Smith and his men faced further agony when their second group game against Bangladesh was also washed out. Their fiery fast bowler Mitchell Starc, who bagged 4/29, had blown away the Bangladesh batting line-up with searing yorkers, and Bangladesh folded up for a meagre 182.

16 overs into the chase, Australia were sitting pretty at 83/1. The umpires then called for drinks, but the heavens opened up at The Oval only for play to never resume again. Just four overs away from a result, the match was rained out and the teams had to share a point each.

That meant Australia’s match against a rampaging England became a virtual quarter-final for them. Had this game been won by Australia – and there was a remote possibility that they would have lost – not only would they have got another point, but also Bangladesh would have been deprived of the point they got from the wash out.

That way, even with Bangladesh beating the Black Caps and Australia losing to England – both of which actually happened – Australia would have been ahead on points from Bangladesh, with the former having 3 while the latter having 2. That would have knocked Bangladesh out and brought Australia into the semis. Luck deserted them throughout the tournament.

#4 Untested middle-order due to two wash outs

Australia’s middle-order never had an opportunity to showcase its skills before the England game

Ahead of a must-win encounter against arch-rivals England, there was frustration in the Australian camp following consecutive wash-outs in both group games. The fans – and the team itself – expected a sturdy display against a high-quality England team which had tasted twin wins against Bangladesh and New Zealand. That, coupled with the two wash-outs, meant the hosts had already sailed into the semis and were guaranteed of a first-place finish in their group.

In contrast, Australia’s brittle middle-order never had an opportunity to showcase its skills before the England game. In both previous matches, they had batted for 9 and 16 overs, respectively. That meant all of Glenn Maxwell, Travis Head and Matthew Wade were yet to be tested ahead of a do-or-die clash.

It was only the bowling that had been tested – and also delivered, particularly against Bangladesh – before an energetic England came calling. Not to put into oblivion, Australia’s second warm-up match against Pakistan for the Champions Trophy had also suffered at the hands of the rain Gods, who had not allowed even eleven overs to be bowled. They carried to Edgbaston an unpracticed middle-order – certainly not the best of positions to be in ahead of a must-win match.

#5 A shaky David Warner at the top

David Warner struggled in both warm-up games and also in the tournament proper

Virtually every team has certain players who are considered primarily responsible for carrying its baton forward. In the Champions Trophy this year, they were David Warner, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood for Australia. The first of those, the firing opener Warner, was presumed to lay a fantastic platform for his side by attacking the new ball from the word go.

He failed to hit the right note in both of Australia’s warm-up games against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. In the first one, he struggled to 19 off 32 balls, while in the following game, he could only manage 11 off 9 balls. Caught behind to rapid pace both times, the team believed he would deliver when it would matter the most.

However, against New Zealand, Warner fell while advancing to the speed and bounce of Trent Boult after an active 18 off 16 balls. Though he remained undefeated on a neatly made 40 against Bangladesh, Warner threw away another steady start by falling to Mark Wood for 21 against England.

Had Warner hung on for at least another 10 overs against England – he fell in the eighth over – the Australian scoreboard would have worn a different look with his threatening approach and brisk batting.