Losing just one game has hurt Australia badly. The margin more so. Talks about their downfall after last years high are still on the cards given the manner of their performances, and the fact that they lost at home. The first loss to New Zealand hurt badly. An 89 run loss against New Zealand, their opponents in last year’s Final led the way to the downward spiral, affecting the remainder of Australia’s tournament.

An year between tournaments is not much. The small gap is probably why Australia had a very similar side to last year. Against Ireland, ten out of eleven players played last years final. Tim David iss probably the most significant change in the squad along with Cameron Green. Coming into the World Cup though, concerns were not far. Marcus Stoinis and Mitchell Marsh were nursing injuries prior to the tournament. As a result, Mitchell Marsh did not bowl much, taking just one over with the ball. His batting too was not what it looked like last year.

Marcus Stoinis though was pretty good with the bat. His bowling though was far from impressive as he was expensive and did not look as reliable in the death as he normally tends to be. Mitchell Starc’s form is an ongoing concern for the past three years. He is still a very valuable bowler in white-ball cricket, and Australia are finding ways to use him to his potential. In this tournament though, he continued to struggle and was later dropped against Afghanistan, which turned out to be a surprising move. His replacement, Kane Richardson may be a better death bowler, but struggled nevertheless.

The use of Glenn Maxwell has been another concern. With the bat, after struggling prior to the tournament, Maxwell did come good. However, in most cases he has been used a touch late. His bowling is highligted as an important factor in the attack, but as a bowler as well, Maxwell has been underused. For instance, against New Zealand, with New Zealand shaping up for a big score, Maxwell was not used. Tim David as the X-factor was another concern with Tim David struggling to impress. His style of play does tend to lead to low scores, and Australia will hope the manner of his scores do not lead to a drop in confidence for the finisher.

A major concern for Australia though has been David Warner’s form. Normally, David Warner is a beast at home. Last year his consistency at the top helped him fetch the man of the tournament award. To his bad luck though, David Warner ran into a poor run of scores at the wrong time. His lack of runs at the top meant Australia were always playing catch-up, as they lacked ruthlessness at the top.

As a team, the names are pretty promising, but poor form and injuries played a huge part in Australia’s struggles. With the next World Cup in 2024, there could be some significant changes and turnarounds in the side. Aaron Finch has indicated that he is not retiring yet, but Finch along with Wade are unlikely to be around till 2024, leaving Australia with two crucial spots to fill for starters.