Australia captain Pat Cummins is facing the heat after the former champions were handed their heaviest World Cup defeat by South Africa in Lucknow on Thursday, October 12. Australia have gotten off to their worst start in World Cups since the 1992 edition as the team have lost their first two matches in the ongoing edition.

It's not just the defeat itself but the manner in which Australia succumbed that poses a significant concern for their team management.

The pin bowling department of the Australian team playing in this year's World Cup is weak. Indian pitches are dominated by spinners. Adam Zampa is a regular with the Australian team and Glenn Maxwell is a part-time option. Their recent game against India exposed their vulnerability to spin, with six wickets falling to the spinners. While Adam Zampa is their primary spin option, Glenn Maxwell's part-time spin might not suffice if spin-friendly conditions persist.

Their batting display lacked aggression, with the exception of David Warner and Steve Smith, as no other player managed to surpass the 30-run mark.

The major batsman are struggling and the openers are unable to give promising starts for the likes of Steve Smith and Marcus Stoinis. Australia's preparations for the ODI World Cup were clouded by injury concerns and captain Cummins was not part of a 5-match series against South Africa in August-September. After he recovered from an injury he picked up in the Ashes, Cummins returned to lead the team in a 3-match series in India just before the World Cup and also rested from one of them.

The fifth reason behind the poor performance of the Australian team is the sloppy fielding n both the matches. In the first match, when the Indian team was in trouble, Mitchell Marsh dropped Virat Kohli's catch which proved to be a game changer.

Tags :World Cup 2023Mitchell MarshSteve SmithAdam Zampa