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Australia’s ODI World Cup 2023 campaign got off to a nightmarish start as the five-time champions suffered two consecutive losses in the early stages. The team, led by Pat Cummins, first faced defeat at the hands of India in Chennai, with a lacklustre performance with the bat. While hopes were high for a comeback in the next match, Australia instead displayed an even poorer performance, leading to an embarrassing 134-run loss against South Africa in the second match held in Lucknow on October 10.
Michael Clarke blasts out at Australia and issues a stern warning for future
This disappointing beginning did not sit well with many veteran Australian cricketers who openly voiced their criticism. One of the prominent figures to do so was Michael Clarke, Australia’s World Cup-winning skipper, who came down hard on Cummins and his team and issued a stern warning for the future.
In a discussion with Sky Sports Radio, Clarke offered a candid critique of Australia’s performance. He emphasized that if Australia is struggling against a team like South Africa, they should be genuinely concerned about the challenges that lie ahead. He also pointed out that the upcoming matches against Asian countries like Pakistan and Sri Lanka would be no cakewalk, and the team needed to improve significantly.
“Sri Lanka are going to be tough in those conditions. We haven’t played Pakistan yet. We’ve got some really tough cricket ahead of us and if we play like this, we are not qualifying. I’m more worried about the sub-continent teams… if we’re getting shown up like that against South Africa, the spin in the sub-continent teams… we’ll be laughable,” warned Clarke.
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Michael Clarke’s Rugby reference
He went on to draw a parallel between the struggles of the Australian cricket team and the woes of Australia’s rugby team, the Wallabies. Clarke suggested that if the cricket team didn’t get their act together soon, the nation might be having a similar conversation about their cricketing performance as they’ve been having about the Wallabies.
“If we’re not careful the conversation we’ve been having for the last three weeks about the Wallabies, in two weeks’ time we’ll be having that about Australian cricket,” added the 42-year-old.
Match overview:
South Africa innings: (311/7)
Asked to bat first, South Africa’s innings were anchored by a magnificent performance from Quinton de Kock, who played a stellar knock of 109 runs off 106 balls, smashing eight fours and five towering sixes. Aiden Markram also contributed significantly with a solid 56 off 44 deliveries. Despite the Australian bowlers’ efforts, the Proteas managed to post a competitive total of 311/7 in their allotted 50 overs.
Australia innings: (177/10)
Australia’s chase didn’t go as planned as they struggled to build partnerships. Marnus Labuschagne was the standout performer for the Aussies, scoring 46 runs off 74 balls. However, they were unable to maintain the required run rate. Kagiso Rabada was the pick of the South African bowlers, claiming three wickets for 33 runs in his eight overs.
