The Greatest ODI teams in history: Michael Clarke's 2015 World Cup winners knew when to peak

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  • It’s approaching 50 years since the maiden ODI was played between Australia and England at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). While T20s are the current darlings of cricket, it was the 50-over format which initially helped raise the popularity and exposure of the sport.

    The format gave birth to the ICC World Cup in 1975, a quadrennial competition, which has become the benchmark for greatness in the game. Over the years, there have been several teams to have dazzled with their brilliant performances over both bilateral series and ICC competitions.

    In this series, we take a look at eight of the best ODI squads in history. Australia’s 2014-15 ODI side is the focus of our attention below.

    SQUAD

    Openers: Aaron Finch, David Warner

    Middle-order: Shane Watson, Steve Smith, Michael Clarke (C), Glenn Maxwell, Brad Haddin (WK)

    All-rounders: Shane Watson, James Faulkner, Glenn Maxwell

    Pacers: Mitchell Johnson, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins

    Overview

    starc

    As far as peaking at just the right time goes, few sides have done it better than Australia’s 2015 World Cup winning outfit led by Michael Clarke. While Australia have always been a dominant force in ODIs since the turn of the 20th century, their aura of invincibility had started to fade after India captured the 2011 World Cup title on home soil.

    Subsequent retirements of heavyweights such as Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey left a gaping hole in terms of experience as well as big match-winners.

    Series defeats at the hands of India and South Africa had dented Australia’s bid to build a strong team for the 2015 World Cup campaign. Meanwhile, a Brendon McCullum-led New Zealand side were shaping up nicely for the challenge of the World Cup which was to be jointly hosted by the Trans-Tasman neighbours.

    However, all the doubts surrounding Australia’s credentials were put to rest in emphatic style as Clarke and his men went on to win seven series in a row including the World Cup.

    Captain – Michael Clarke

    clarke

    It wasn’t always the smoothest captaincy stint for Michael Clarke after he took over the reins from Ricky Ponting in 2011. A horrendous 2013 tour of India was followed by the infamous ‘homework’ saga and suspension of four players including Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson.

    On several occasions, Clarke’s captaincy came under fire from his own players, with Michael Hussey and Johnson among the stars to criticise his leadership qualities. Despite a fractured tenure blighted by squad disharmony, Clarke bounced back strongly to ultimately emerge as a fine captain for Australia.

    The regaining of the Ashes urn from England in 2013-14 thanks to a 5-0 whitewash played its part in improving Clarke’s standing as a leader. Those credentials were only enhanced by the manner in which he led Australia in the wake of the passing of his close friend and team-mate Phil Hughes.

    As a batsman, there was never a question about Clarke’s class and qualities since entering the international arena in 2003. Despite being hampered by a chronic back injury throughout his career, there was little the New South Wales man couldn’t do with the bat in hand. He was, without a shadow of a doubt, the best batsman in the world around 2012 and it was only natural that Australia chose him as the successor to an all-time batting great in Ponting.

    STRENGTHS

    Warner-Finch opening combo

    The openers are important when it comes to setting the tone from the top, and Australia had just the perfect combination for it in David Warner and Aaron Finch. A left-right batting combination at the crease is always unsettling for bowlers and this is just one of the many advantages Warner and Finch brought to the side.

    Both of them were adept at adopting an aggressive approach and this would put many bowling units on the back-foot straightaway.  In 2014 and 2015, the two openers combined for nearly 2,500 ODI runs while sharing seven tons between them.

    Smith finally shows his ODI chops

    smith

    Australia struck gold at just the right moment with Steve Smith. Having initially come into the side as a bowling all-rounder, Smith was hardly pulling up any trees for the Aussies until 2014.

    While his abilities had started to come to the fore in Tests during 2013, it was only a year later that he showed that he could do the same in the limited-overs formats.

    In 2014-15, the right-hander averaged more than 51 with the bat in ODIs while helping himself to four tons in the process. More importantly, it was Smith’s ability to stand tall when it counted most which put him head and shoulders above other batsmen in the era. A century in the semi-final win over India in the World Cup, along with an unbeaten fifty in the final against New Zealand, cemented his status as the man for the big occasion.

    Pace all the way as spin goes for a toss

    pace

    For a World Cup winning side, Australia’s lack of a specialist spinner made them unique. The side was packed with some terrific pacers, including Mitchell Starc who was at the very top of his game. In the two years in the period, Starc averaged a sensational 19.57 with the ball and ended up as the leading wicket-taker in the World Cup campaign.

    He was supplemented nicely by the pace of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, with the former stitching together a rare run of games after being plagued by back injuries for several years.

    Utility players galore

    faulkner

    That Australia were able to get away without fielding a specialist spinner was down to the fact that they had an abundance of utility players. Glenn Maxwell’s part-time off-spin accounted for 35 wickets in 2014-15 while Clarke could also throw down some handy left-arm spin when the situation demanded.

    However, it was the medium-pace of James Faulkner which turned out to be the difference for the champions, with the all-rounder chipping in with vital breakthroughs at crucial junctures.

    His three-wicket haul in the World Cup final win was just one of the many instances where he delivered some big blows for his team.

    Greatest feat – Seven series in a row

    wc

    Even though this particular side lacked the star quality of the Aussie World Cup winning teams of old, they knew how to deliver as a collective.

    Comprehensive series wins over Pakistan and South Africa were followed by an equally convincing victory in a tri-nation ODI series also involving England and India. These wins galvanised the unit just in time for the World Cup and helped develop a momentum which would take them all the way to title glory.

    In the World Cup, they were close to perfection with a narrow early tournament loss to co-hosts New Zealand being the only blemish in their victorious campaign. Every other side, including the Blackcaps in the final, were swatted aside in emphatic fashion.

    India were crushed by a margin of nearly 100 runs in the semi-final, while the Kiwis were similarly dispatched by seven wickets in the summit clash.

    This winning habit was kept up by the Aussies post the World Cup as well, despite the retirement of skipper Clarke. Ireland, England and India were rolled over as the streak was extended to seven series victories in a row.

    This feat has been bettered only by two former Australia ODI sides, including the 2003 World Cup winning outfit under Ricky Ponting.

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