 Australia will face New Zealand in the finals of the Champions Trophy,
2009. The game will be played at Centurion, on a track which could aid the slower
bowlers towards the second innings of the game.
Australia has literally swept into the finals - by today's standards, that
is. They may not have looked invincible through the entire duration of the tournament,
but the record of only one loss in their 11 games is something that most sides
would be envious of. More than anything, one gets the feeling that the return
of Brett Lee to the side has added a lot of firepower to the team, and
turned around the manner in which the team has gone about their business.
Click for Live Score Card of Australia vs New Zealand
This has meant that even his bowling partner Mitchell Johnson has begun
to do well as a first change bowler, adding quite a lot of edge to the attack.
The other good bit about their bowling is in the form of back-up, as none of
Peter Siddle, Shane Watson and James Hopes seem to be the kind of bowlers
who could be collared too easily as all of them understand their job well.
The batting could just be an issue. One says this despite the fact that they
have done well, but the sense that I get is that the Australia side is
over-dependent on Ricky Ponting. This means that if he was scalped early,
it could lead to issues in the middle order which is already struggling with
the absence of Michael Clarke. Michael Hussey may have returned back
to form, but one can bet one's bottom dollar that they would have wished for
some more meat in the middle.
The Kiwis will hope that they perform to the best of their abilities because
losing three players to injuries could have had a negative repercussion on the
side. While Darryl Tuffey may not be missed on a track that may not offer
too much assistance to the quick bowlers, Jacob Oram all-round capabilities,
and Jesse Ryder's aptitude to smash balls outside the ground will be missed.
Instead, Brendon McCullum may have to bat slightly more aggressively
than what one has grown used to from him, with able support from the middle.
One almost feels that Vettori may be tempted in strengthening the middle order
by getting in someone like Scot Styris for the game in place of a quick bowler,
given that Centurion may just be more suited to Stryis' like!
Australia will go into the game as favourites, but if New Zealand can
win the toss and bat well, it could go down to the wire.
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