Team preview: Australia

After Steve Smith and David Warner were handed one-year suspensions after the ball-tampering incident in March 2018, Australia went on to lose 11 and win just two of their next 13 one-day internationals. Then, as the World Cup beckoned, the defending champions found form again: they came back from 0-2 down to beat India 3-2 away from home, before sweeping Pakistan 5-0 in the United Arab Emirates last month.

They have now won eight ODIs on the trot, and have also overcome both their opponents – England and Sri Lanka – in the warm-up games leading up to the tournament. Despite everything they went through in the last 12 months, five-time champions Australia are one of the favourites to lift the World Cup, once again.

Strengths and weakness

With Smith and Warner back in the team and Aaron Finch and Usman Khawaja firing on all cylinders, Australia have a formidable top order. Warner was the top run-scorer in IPL 2019, Smith recently notched up a century against England in the warm-up, and Finch (634) and Khawaja (769) lead the run-scoring charts in ODI cricket this year.

Then comes the dynamism of Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Alex Carey in the middle order, all of whom have impressed with the bat recently. The likes of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Jason Behrendorff form one of the best pace contingents in the tournament.

Australia's biggest cause of concern in the tournament will be the absence of a backup wicket-keeper. In case of an injury to Carey right before a fixture, they might struggle to fill up the spot in their XI. They also have no wrist-spinner apart from Zampa, which might restrict their bowling options deep into the tournament.

Key player

David Warner: The left-hander is a contender for Player of the Tournament and will be the vital cog of Australia's batting order. He smashed 692 runs in the IPL at 69.2, including a hundred and eight fifties. He also looked in good touch in the warm-up game against England, scoring a 55-ball 43 at Southampton.

X factor

Adam Zampa: With 18 scalps in 11 games, Zampa is Australia's leading wicket-taker in ODI cricket this year. The young wrist-spinner adds variation and zing to Australia's bowling unit and will be crucial for them, particularly on slower wickets.

Tournament history

Australia go into the World Cup as the most successful team in the tournament, with five titles to their name. They have won four out of five tournaments this century, and are also the defending champions for this edition. If that doesn't make them one of the favourites to take home the trophy, what does?

Recent form (most recent first)

W W W W W W W W L L

Fixtures

1 June: v Afghanistan, County Ground, Bristol
6 June: v West Indies, Trent Bridge, Nottingham
9 June: v India, The Oval, London
12 June: v Pakistan, County Ground, Taunton
15 June: v Sri Lanka, The Oval, London
20 June: v Bangladesh, Trent Bridge, Nottingham
25 June: v England, Lord's, London
29 June: v New Zealand, Lord's, London
6 July: v South Africa, Old Trafford, Manchester

Squad

Aaron Finch (c), Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa.