The ICC T20 World Cup Australian squad SWOT Analysis

Australia will be one of the strongest contenders for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Having won the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup last year, they will be looking to win the T20 World Cup as well.

The highly-anticipated T20 World Cup is scheduled to get underway on June 1 with the game between co-hosts USA and Canada. Australia are in Group B along with defending champions England, Oman, Scotland and Namibia.

They will be opening their campaign against Oman on June 5 before taking on England on June 8. It will be followed by games against Namibia and Scotland on June 11 and June 15 respectively. So before Australia begin their campaign in the ICC T20 World Cup, we are taking a look at their squad's strength, weakness, opportunities and threat.

Australia squad SWOT analysis:

Strength:

Batting:

Australia have one of the best batting units in the tournament. Right from the top order till the lower order, they have reliable batters who can single handedly change the course of the game in a matter of few deliveries. In David Warner, Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh, they have a very strong top order while the likes of Josh Inglis, Tim David, Cameron Green, Matthew Wade and Marcus Stoinis are reliable middle and lower order options.

Stunning record in ICC competitions:

Australia's confidence will be sky high thanks to their track record in ICC tournaments. No team has quite managed to dominate the global events like the Aussies. Even in the last three years, they won the T20 World Cup in 2021 before clinching the World Test Championship title and ODI World Cup last year. Australia will now be looking to clinch the T20 World Cup as well.

Allrounders:

Australia's squad is filled with some of the world's best allrounders such as Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Cameron Green. Maxwell did not have the best of outings in the IPL but he has a reputation of delivering for Australia on the big stage.

He played a key role in their triumph at the ODI World Cup last year and will be eyeing a similar performance in the upcoming tournament. On the other hand, Green and Stoinis had good outing in the IPL and will be looking to extend their form in the World Cup.

Weakness:

Death bowling:

Death bowling will definitely be a major concern for Australia. Australia's pace attack has some of the world's best bowlers but they have often struggled to make a big impact in T20s. While the likes of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood have done well in the other formats, they have not really managed to live up to the expectations in the shortest format of the game.

Both Cummins and Starc struggled to maintain a good economy-rate in the recently-concluded IPL 2024. Cummins had an economy-rate of over 9 while Starc's economy-rate was 10.61.

The opening conundrum:

Australia have the problem of plenty when it comes to the opening combination. While captain Marsh and Warner looked like the opening pair for the tournament, the team-management might have doubts over it due to the latter's disastrous performance in IPL 2024.

David Warner's poor show coincided with Head's brilliant run in the tournament. While Warner could not even touch the 200-run mark in the IPL, Head scored more than 500 runs while opening the innings. Head had opened the innings in the ODI World Cup last year and it would be interesting to see his batting position in the upcoming T20 World Cup.

Opportunities:

Australia eye history:

Australia can become the very first team to hold all the major ICC trophies at once. They are already the holders of the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup and can complete the set by winning the T20 World Cup this year.

A rare double:

Australia will also have the opportunity to become only the third team to win the T20 World Cup twice. Only West Indies and England have managed to win the T20 World Cup more than once so far.

Threat:

Pressure of expectation:

While Australia have a reputation of delivering under pressure, the pressure of expectation could hurt them in the T20 World Cup. In recent times, they have struggled to live up to the expectations. In 2022, they could not do well in the T20 World Cup at home even though they were the defending champions. They are entering the competition as one of the strongest contenders and it could hamper their chances.

For more such information and cricket news on the ICC T20 World Cup, visit CricketAddictor.

Australia squad for ICC T20 World Cup 2024:

Mitchell Marsh (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

Travelling Reserves: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Matt Short

Australia's schedule:

June 5: Australia v Oman, Barbados - 06:00 AM IST (June 6) (08:30 PM Local)
June 8: Australia v England, Barbados - 10:30 PM IST (01:00 PM Local)
June 11: Australia v Namibia, Antigua - 06:00 AM IST (08:30 PM Local)
June 15: Australia v Scotland, St Lucia - 06:00 AM IST (June 16) (08:30 PM Local)