'Every team will be wary of Australia at the World Cup', says Waugh

Australia's recent resurgence and the return of David Warner and Steve Smith make it a side that other teams will be wary of, says Steve Waugh.

Published : May 20, 2019 17:34 IST

Australia head coach Justin Langer (L) with former Australia captain Steve Waugh during a practice session in Adelaide.
Australia head coach Justin Langer (L) with former Australia captain Steve Waugh during a practice session in Adelaide.
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Australia head coach Justin Langer (L) with former Australia captain Steve Waugh during a practice session in Adelaide.

Former captain Steve Waugh said Australia may not be the favourites to win the upcoming World Cup but the return of Steve Smith and David Warner will make other teams “wary” of the five-time winner.

Smith and Warner’s year-long international exile following bans for ball-tampering came to an end a couple of months ago. Immediately after returning to action, Warner, with 692 runs from 12 innings in the IPL, sounded warning bells to the rival bowlers while Smith showed glimpses of his old touch in the three warm-up matches against New Zealand in Brisbane recently.

“Every side will be wary of Australia. They know the potential of the Australian side. There’s been turmoil in Australian cricket over the last 12 months, but that has been put aside now. We’ve got our best players available to be picked in Smith and Warner,” Waugh was quoted as saying by the ICC website.

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The defending champions seem to be peaking at the right time. Starting in 2018, Australia had won just three out of 18 ODIs before it turned its fortunes around during the limited-overs tour of India.

Trailing 0-2, Australia posted a hat-trick of wins to register a remarkable come-from-behind series victory against the favourite and host India in March. Then, it blanked Pakistan 5-0 at the United Arab Emirates, proving that its success against India was no fluke.

 

“Their form was very poor, but all of a sudden, they’ve won their last eight matches, and they’ve got Smith and Warner in the team. And that is ominous for other sides, they know how good these sides are.

“Australia will be one of the teams probably not the favourite for the tournament, but the team that other sides will be probably most fearful of. They could do some damage. So I think Australia could go really deep in the tournament,” Waugh said.

The 53-year-old, however, picked host England as the firm favourite to clinch the coveted trophy.

READ | Why Australia will always remain a World Cup darling

“England to me are probably the favourites - their form has been outstanding over the last couple of years. They are playing at home. Sometimes, that creates more pressure, but they’ve got a really good coach in Trevor Bayliss to keep the players grounded. So I think England would be favourites, and probably Australia and India on that second line of favouritism,” said Waugh.

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