Starc, Cummins expected to play in first ODI

Cummins was rested for Australia’s final one-dayer against South Africa last Saturday while Starc missed the clash in Potchefstroom to fly home and watch his wife Alyssa Healy power Australia to the Women’s T20 World Cup title at the MCG.

Both are expected to return on their home turf of the SCG, where Australia will be hoping to snap a five-game ODI losing streak stretching back to its final pool match of last year’s World Cup.

However, captain Finch said Australia’s bowlers are not to blame for his side’s one-day woes. Finch put the blame on Australia’s senior top three batters – himself, David Warner and Steve Smith – for not scoring the bulk of the runs and laying a foundation for an unfamiliar middle order.

“At the end of the day it comes down to the top three and as experienced players – myself, Davey and Steve – haven’t got as many runs as what we should have,” Finch told reporters on Thursday.

“That’s where the buck stops. You look at our bowling it’s been pretty good. It’s been excellent in the powerplay. Like most teams around the world, wickets in the middle overs are hard to come by. The teams that take them tend to win a lot more games. That’s an area we’re focusing on and taking that next step from that 260-280 total to really push up and get match-winning totals on the board,” he explained.

In the last 12 months, Australia has used 12 players in the ODI middle order (4-7), with Starc’s one-off pinch-hitting experiment in India excluded. Gloveman Alex Carey has been the mainstay, playing in all 22 matches and batting predominantly at No.7.

Glenn Maxwell (14 innings) and Marcus Stoinis (11) were regulars in the middle order but have not played since the World Cup semi-final last July due to injury and selection, respectively.

Marnus Labuschagne, fresh off scoring his maiden ODI century last start, looks to have cemented his spot at No.4, while Mitch Marsh and D’Arcy Short played at No.5 and 6 in the South Africa series, with Carey coming at No.7.

That combination appears set to continue as Australia persist with giving their new-look middle order time to gel but they must continue to perform to hold their places.

“We’re keen to give them as long as possible,” Finch said. “If you look at our last 20 games that middle order combination hasn’t been very stable.

“The fact they haven’t played a huge amount of cricket with each other in terms of batting partnerships and just getting to know each other’s games a lot better through playing in pressure moments, that will improve as they bat more together. At the end the of the day you still need results. You give guys as long as they can to find that balance of forming good partnerships and strong relationships out in the middle. But like I said, the top order, we’re the ones that need to step up,” he added. In the favour of Marsh and Short in the middle order is their ability to bowl as all-rounders. Australia needs overs out of Marsh, Short and Labuschagne as the fifth bowling option if the selectors don’t pick five specialist bowlers, which has been the case when left-arm spinner Ashton Agar has played.

But what Finch is after is wickets through the middle overs, which continues to be one of the biggest challenge for captains in ODI cricket.

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said his side had to take a long hard look at itself after it was “exposed” by a rampant Australian Test side this summer.

The Black Caps arrived on Australian soil in December as the No.2 Test team in the world with a squad lauded as possibly the best New Zealand side ever assembled. But two months later it returned home with its tails between its legs comprehensively beaten 3-0 by Tim Paine’s charges.

That humbling loss forced Williamson and his team to engage in honest conversations about the way it played and where its cricket was going. The self-reflection worked wonders as less than two months later New Zealand swept the No.1 Test team in the world, Virat Kohli’s India, on home soil.

Winning away from home has become just about the hardest challenge in world cricket, but Williamson says adapting to foreign conditions is just one aspect of playing abroad.

And it was not the reason why his side were taught a free lesson on playing Test cricket in Australia this summer. “When you lose and get exposed in such a large way it’s not just conditions,” Williamson said. “Australia is one of the top Test teams in the world and is particularly clinical on these surfaces as well. But when you do get exposed like that, they are some of the best opportunities to learn and take a look at yourselves as individuals and as a team and the direction you want to go in. Despite them teaching us a number of lessons and it not being ideal, it’s also the greatest opportunities to learn and grow,” the New Zealand captain said.

New Zealand also swept India 3-0 in the one-day series on home soil.