The banned duo of Steve Smith and David Warner are about to finish their year-long ban on March 29. They are likely to return in the squad on the very same day as Australia will play against Pakistan in UAE on March 29. Australia will be eagerly waiting for their band to finish and provide the strength in the batting order.
Former Australian cricketer Simon Katich feels the return of both this player will bring a lot of experience in the Australian team.
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“Having the class of Smith and Warner coming back into the mix gives us a lot more confidence with our squad moving forward for the World Cup. So great result for Australia and I hope that it continues throughout the English summer,” Katich told reporters in Kolkata on Thursday.
Australia is fresh from winning the historic One-Day International series against India, where they were 2-0 down in the series and registered a comfortable 3-2 series win. Katich believes this win will do a world of good in the Australian team’s confidence.
“It is a very good result, given how tough a summer it has been. You know, losing to India in Australia for the very first time..it was tough for the Australians to take. They deserve all the credit in coming to India and winning,” Katich said.
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“Australia has not been playing great ODI cricket for the past 12 months, so I think what they showed here in India is a lot of spirit and determination.”
He further mentioned Australian selectors will have plenty of options to pick their squad for ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 from. Usman Khawaja, Adam Zampa and Ashton Turner did well in India and it brings a health headache for Australian selectors.
Katich quoted before concluding “A few new faces popped up and grabbed their chance. There was Usman Khawaja at the top of the order, he was outstanding. Aston Turner down the order was excellent at the back end of the innings. So it has given the Australian selectors some interesting decisions to make ahead of the World Cup squad selection.”
