Posted July 01, 2019 05:03:33

Photo: Australia's experienced coaching staff — AKA the Langer and Ponting show — have done pretty well so far. (AP: Matt Dunham)

It seems remarkable how well this once disgraced and dysfunctional Australian team has come together.

Or it would do if the television cameras at Lord's for the round-robin games against England and New Zealand had not lingered on coach Justin Langer and adviser Ricky Ponting, now the best balcony act since the Muppet Show's Statler and Waldorf.

In sport we tend to mistake chance for genius and to confuse inspiration with mere good fortune. Most often, of course, success requires a bit of both.

But the mere sight of these two respected stalwarts from a golden era calmly plotting Australia's campaign, in conjunction with the increasingly robust skipper Aaron Finch, has made Australia's once unlikely but now seamless progression seem like a perfectly planned escapade.

One by one the most delicate tasks, such as the reintegration of David Warner and Steve Smith, have been adroitly handled, while tactics have been perfected even as the team recipe was refined — a touch more Lyon, a bit less Zampa; a pinch of Behrendorff, not so much Coulter-Nile.

Photo: Jason Behrendorff has proved vital with the new ball at this World Cup. (AP: Matt Dunham)

So as Australia approaches the final game against South Africa with semi-final qualification long guaranteed and the luxury of a full week to rest, there is a feeling of calm control — perhaps even destiny — about this surprising team.

Yet — and what would cricket be without a selection debate — even now we continue to fret about Langer and Ponting's team with a pair of regular scapegoats, Usman Khawaja and Glenn Maxwell, the subject of what anguish remains.

Given they are the odd couple of this Australian line-up, the reasons Khawaja and Maxwell remain in the selectorial cross hairs are typically distinct.

Believe their most strident critics and the laconic Khawaja does not look like he is trying hard enough, while the frenzied Maxwell appears to be trying too hard. Khawaja has scored his runs too slowly; Maxwell has scored his runs at a furious rate, but not enough of them.

So despite Australia's spectacular unexpected success, commentator Michael Slater wants Khawaja replaced and the rapidly improving wicketkeeper Alex Carey promoted to number five, while another TV pundit, Kerry O'Keeffe, would shuffle Steve Smith up to number three and have Shaun Marsh take Khawaja's place.

Meanwhile, pretty much everyone with a Twitter account has been briefly aroused by Maxwell's hard hitting, then immediately demanded he be dropped when one of the extreme risks that his job entails in the final overs brings him undone.

But let's take a deep breath, relax, take another reassuring look up at Langer and Ponting on the balcony and consider why both Khawaja and Maxwell have a crucial role to play in this tournament — even if they have only played it briefly so far.

Photo: Usman Khawaja's critical 88 against New Zealand showed he still has a role to play at the World Cup. (AP: Matt Dunham)

Much of the criticism of Khawaja has come after he arrived at the end of one of Finch and Warner's excellent opening partnerships and at a time when acceleration rather than consolidation was required.

The reviews were particularly scathing after the games against Afghanistan, when Khawaja arrived at 1-96 and made 15 off 20, and England, when he turned up at 1-123 and put together a seemingly leisurely 23 (29).

But as Australia's "third opener" behind a pair given a mandate to build solid but (by the ballistic standards of contemporary One-Day Internationals) not spectacular opening partnerships, it was clear Khawaja's greatest value would be on those occasions when Finch and Warner failed rather than on the coattails of their best work.

So it proved against New Zealand, when Khawaja fiddled around for an invaluable 88 (129) while the rest of the top-order burned. In that context, it is not Khawaja's selection that seems in question but Langer, Ponting and Finch's willingness to demote him when necessary.

Against both India and Pakistan the more punishing Smith was promoted to number three after big opening stands. While a similar juggling of the order might have proven worthwhile against England, Khawaja's presence remains an astute insurance plan against the fall of early wickets.

Photo: The critics are calling Glenn Maxwell's spot into question — the all-rounder's lack of runs is their focus. (AP: Matt Dunham)

And Maxwell? Like much of the Australian batting he has also been, in a sense, the victim of the enormously successful opening partnership.

The longer Finch and Warner take to lay their foundation, the less time there is for those down the order to do anything but throw the bat in the few overs they are given.

That Maxwell has scored just 143 runs is enough to harden the beliefs of those who have long believed the Big Show was a No Show at vital moments.

Certainly, he missed a chance to make a larger contribution against New Zealand when he came in with 30 overs remaining and was out for just 1.

The sole occasion Maxwell seemed ready to tear an attack apart he was run out for 32 from just 10 balls after Khawaja held his ground rather than scampering a single.

But given most anguish has been about Australia's inability to accelerate, you can make a strong case based on Maxwell's tournament-leading strike rate of 190.66 that the Victorian is playing the self-sacrificing role required of him, one that might yet prove vital in the knockout games.

Alternatively, you can turn your gaze to the player's balcony and trust the judgement of the wise men whose performance at this World Cup has prompted very little second guessing.

Topics: sport, cricket, onedayseries, england, australia