ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: Strongest Australian Playing XI

The last ten months have been quite difficult for Australia. The reason being their failure to cope with the nonexistence of Steve Smith and David Warner. However, the Australians will be hoping for the banned duo's comeback as soon as their ban ends on 29 March 2019.

Australia's chances in the upcoming 2019 World Cup will heavily rely on how Warner and Smith will fare after the bans as the two have been an indispensable part of the Australian cricket team across all the formats. Nonetheless, it is worthy to note that, despite struggling in the recent past, Australia has managed to mark out some crucial players who are expected to play an influential role in the upcoming quadrennial tournament. Hence, team selection will be the key for Australia in the grand 50-over event.

Thus, without a tinge of doubt, Australia will have a tough time while churning out a competitive XI for them in the 2019 World Cup. Much so, after having gone through the dynamics of the current status of the Australian team, let us try and figure out the strongest XI that Australian might feature in the upcoming World Cup.

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#1 Aaron Finch (c)

Since January 1, 2018, Australia has employed as many as six batsmen, including Warner, in their opening department. However, none of them have fared decently except Aaron Finch who has played 12 matches at that position while scoring 499 runs at an average of 41.58.

Thus, with solid numbers, Finch will be the constant in Australia's opening department for the 2019 World Cup. Since Warner and Smith's bans, Finch has also captained Australia in six games while winning two of them. Thus, having had a brief captaincy experience, Australia might hand the captaincy duties to Finch in the coming World Cup.

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#2 David Warner

With Warner set to complete his ban on 29 March, it is inevitable that the southpaw will be holding the opening position, alongside Aaron Finch, in the upcoming World Cup. Although Warner is currently suffering from an injury, he is expected to be available for selection after completing his ban. Hence, he will get an adequate amount of time to prepare for the 2019 World Cup.

Warner has been Australia's best bet in the opening department for quite some time now, and thus Australia will hope for a better performance from him at the grand 50-over event. The left-hander's addition will bolster the opening department for Australia as they will have a more stable opening department than they have had in the last ten months.

#3 Steve Smith

Steve Smith will unquestionably be Australia's key man in the upcoming World Cup. At number 3, Smith's presence will help Australia to stabilize the middle order - a significant link in ODIs - as they have possessed a bit shaky middle-order in the recent past.

The only cloud surrounding Smith is the injury that he picked up in the Bangladesh Premier League. He is said to get fit only by mid-April which will hinder his preparations for the 2019 World Cup. However, if everything goes well, the injury will not trouble Smith in the nearing World Cup.

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#4 Shaun Marsh

Shaun Marsh has had a decent time in the middle-order since January 2018. Having played ten matches since January 2018, Marsh has amassed 640 runs at an average of 64.00 and a strike-rate of 97.70. His tally also includes four hundreds and a solitary fifty.

Besides, with 640 runs to his name, he stands as the highest run-scorer for Australia since January 2018. Thus, it is apparent that Marsh will field a place in the middle-order for Australia in the 2019 World Cup.

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#5 Peter Handscomb (WK)

Peter Handscomb did not have a good 2018. However, he kicked-off the year 2019 in style as he finished as the second highest run-getter for Australia in the ODI series against India. Having played three matches, he notched-up 151 runs at an average of 50.33 and a strike-rate of 103.42. The performance against India might help him fix a place in the Australian playing XI for the coming event.

Moreover, with Alex Carey failing more often than not, Australia will be looking Handscomb as a prospective wicket-keeping option in the 2019 World Cup. Thus, with Handscomb having good hands behind the stumps, we might see him in Australia's World Cup XI as a wicket-keeper batsman while allowing Australia to have an extra batsman or bowler in the final XI.

#6 Glenn Maxwell

Glenn Maxwell failed to perform to his potential in 2018. However, he did contribute with the bat in the ODI series against India where he scored 85 runs at an average of 42.50 and a strike-rate of 139.34. Maxwell will be hoping to continue the same with the World Cup around.

Nevertheless, the thing that he will be hoping to improve is his bowling as he failed to take wickets in the ODI series against India. Be that as it may, the Victorian all-rounder will undoubtedly hold a place in Australia's XI for the World Cup.

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#7 Marcus Stoinis

Another all-rounder who will inevitably feature Australia's World Cup XI is Marcus Stoinis. The well-built all-rounder has proved to be a vital cog in the Australian ODI team for quite a few time now. He showed his all-round exploits in the recent ODI series against India where he gathered 86 runs at an average of 43.00 and a strike-rate of 86.87.

Besides, with the ball, he also grabbed four wickets while making him the second highest wicket-taker for Australia in the series. He will expect to perform on the same lines for Australia in the nearing 50-over event.

#8 Pat Cummins

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Pat Cummins, a ferocious bowling all-rounder from Sydney, has been in an enormous form of late. It goes without saying that Cummins will prove to be an essential player in the Australian line-up at the 2019 World Cup.

In addition to spearheading the bowling attack at the grand 50-over event, Pat will also happen to add a sense of depth to the Australian batting order owing to his decent batting skills. Thus, it is evident that Cummins will find a place in Australia's XI at the 2019 World Cup.

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#9 Nathan Coulter-Nile

A tall right-arm bowler from Western Australia, Nathan Coulter-Nile, happens to be one of the most underrated players at the moment. He is too good a player to be benched. In the recent past, Nathan hasn't got many chances to prove himself in the limited overs format.

To be precise, Coulter-Nile has played only a solitary game for Australia since January 2018. However, pending his fierce bowling skills, Australia will look to include him in the playing XI for the World Cup. Moreover, taking the fact that he is an able batsman too, the case gets stronger for Nathan.

#10 Mitchell Starc

Mitchell Starc, a fierce left-arm pacer from Sydney, has faced a lot of criticism in the recent past for his mediocre performance in the Test series against India. However, one cannot deny the fact that he remains Australia's one of the best fast bowling options at the nearing World Cup.

The reason being he is an experienced player who has it all what needs to perform at a stage as big as World Cup. Hence, it is highly unlikely that Australia will not feature him in the playing XI for the coming 2019 World Cup.

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#11 Adam Zampa

An intelligent bowler with the capacity to deceive batsmen in the air and off the pitch, Adam Zampa is a significant spinning option in Australia for the moment. Having had some impressive performances with the ball in 2018, Zampa will be of utmost importance for Australia in the coming quadrennial event owing to his uncanny spinning exploits.

For the fact that Australia doesn't have another quality specialist spinner in ODIs, Zampa will certainly end up in the playing XI of Australia at the 2019 World Cup.