Bangladesh made runs and Australia chased them. England win the toss and break Pakistan’s heart.

Notes on Zampa, Marsh, England's batting, and Pakistan's bowling

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Bangladesh had a top seven where everyone made double figures. That was not how this World Cup had been going for them. So that was great, sadly Warner, and Smith stood with Mitch Marsh, and they didn’t need anyone else. 

Never has a bigger energy sap happened before that match started than when Pakistan lost the Toss and England elected to kick them out of the World Cup. Not with their batting, just the choice. In the end, their batting was pretty good. Though it would not have pleased all England fans to see the team finally doing exactly as it should. They made a lot of runs up front, pushing hard in the middle and then swinging to get as many as they could by the end. Pakistan batted like a teenager who had just been dumped by his first girlfriend and ended up 93 runs behind. But no one gave a shit after the toss. 

Australia win 7 in 9 with 4 players in form (SAK)

Australia finish 3rd on the points table, equal on points with South Africa. The two will clash in the second semi-final in Kolkata on the 16th. But this hasn’t quite been a massively dominant run from the Aussies. 

If we look at their batting, 3 players - Warner, Maxwell & Marsh - have had brilliant campaigns. But Smith and Marnus haven’t had the same impact, Head hasn’t scored in the last 3 innings since his swashbuckling hundred, and Inglis and Stoinis have been quite disappointing.

With the ball, Adam Zampa has been exceptional. But he really has had little help from his teammates. Compare this to Maharaj or Jadeja, who have had commendable support from their pace attacks. I talked about Starc’s all-time great ODI status ahead of the World Cup, so there are potentially another couple of games for him to prove his worth. But both him and Cummins have gone for plenty, and they haven’t taken too many wickets either. Maxwell has been a very impressive part-time bowler.

Adam Zampa continues to be brilliant (SAK)

But more on Zampa now. He has the most wickets by any bowler in this World Cup. He is also 6 wickets ahead of the next-best among spinners, Mitch Santner.

He also has the most wickets by an Australian spinner in a World Cup. He was also terrific in the 2021 T20 World Cup and has established himself as one of the best LOI spinners currently.

We talked about the lack of support, and you can see it clearly here. The difference in economy as well as average is staggering. And it is even more amazing when you factor in that Zampa was barely able to land the ball properly in the first couple of games. He concedes fewer runs than his teammates despite being a strike spinner, just absolutely magnificent.

Mitchell Marsh gets another big score (SAK)

Mitchell Marsh deserves a lot of credit for his ODI resurgence. You can see here that 2023 is when he really comes into his own in the format. Batting up the order has definitely suited his game a lot more. With Travis Head back opening, he had to shift to number 3. And I think that him at 3 with Smith at 4 makes more sense because Smith is definitely better equipped to handle the spinners in those middle overs.

But today he also tackled the Bangladeshi spinners pretty well. Look at his strike rate by each bowler, he absolutely took down everyone.

Australia have broken their record for the highest successful World Cup chase in consecutive games now. This speaks about how dominant their bowlers were in the past, and also how the game has become a lot higher-scoring now.

Australia’s pace isn’t at its best (SAK)

Australia have the 3rd worst average - they are closer to Afghanistan despite the fact that they only had a couple of frontline pacers. You would expect them to be in the New Zealand and South Africa tier with the quality that they have.

They have been middle-of-the-road in terms of economy rates. But still, going at over 6 runs per over is an issue. Even Glenn Maxwell as a part-time spinner has gone for way fewer runs.

Towid Hridoy’s campaign (SAK)

I think he is a very good talent. He has the ability to score in ways most Bangladeshi batters can’t. But World Cups aren’t for young players. He batted at number 4 today, and he scored his first half-century of the World Cup.

He came into the World Cup with decent form but he wasn’t quite able to capitalize on his opportunities. He is now experienced - Bangladesh weren’t going to win the World Cup anyways. He has seen how the big boys do it, now let’s see how he goes in the future.