Adam Zampa is expected to return to the side after missing the game against Sri Lanka on Tuesday through Covid, while Matthew Wade is also expected to play despite testing positive during the week. That will see the Aussies lineup with their preferred eleven, which will be well suited to the Gabba.
After Friday’s washout against England, the scenario is very simple for Australia - win their remaining games against Ireland and Afghanistan in convincing fashion, and a semi final berth is likely. If New Zealand beat England the equation won’t even come down to net run rate.
With net run rate crucial for the Australians, it will be interesting to see if the out-of-form Aaron Finch moves down the order. Finch scored a painful 31 not out off 42 balls against Sri Lanka, which was the slowest innings where a batsmen has faced 40 or more deliveries in Men’s T20 World Cup history. The Australians will be looking for their power hitters in Marsh, Stoinis and David to power the Aussies to a big score on Monday night.
Predicted XI: Aaron Finch, David Warner, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
Ireland
Ireland’s fixture at the MCG on Friday afternoon was also washed out, however their last outing had the cricket world stunned. Their five run win (via DLS) over England on Wednesday flipped Group A on its head, in what was Ireland’s second win against England in an ICC event. Given the nature of their victory, it’s tough to see the Irish making any changes to the eleven that knocked off England.
The historic win was bookended by outstanding performances at the top of each innings with skipper Andrew Balbirnie (62 off 47) and Josh Little (2/16) kept the Irish ahead of the game for the majority of the fixture. Josh Little looms as a particularly dangerous matchup against Aaron Finch, given his struggles against left arm swing bowlers in the last two years.
Ireland’s batting performance in the first twelve overs against England was a stark contrast from their defeat to Sri Lanka in their opening game of the Super 12 stage. Ireland were 1/102 in the twelfth over against England, after only mustering 8/128 from 20 overs against Sri Lanka. On a beautiful batting surface in Brisbane, Ireland must continue to bring this aggression against the Australians if they’re to be competitive in this clash.
Predicted XI: Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie, Lorcan Tucker, Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Fionn Hand, Josh Little
Betting Tips
In the six white ball games between Australia and Ireland, the Aussies have won five with one washout. The Gabba has been a fortress for Australia for a long time and that’s no different for T20I’s, with Australia holding a 5-1 record in Brisbane. It's going to be a tough ask for Ireland to back up their performance against England, and with a good forecast in Brisbane on Monday, they won't be getting looked after by the weather gods.
There won’t be any value for punters in the head to head market, so the runs market is where to look in this fixture. Australia have scored 178 and 118 (in 13 overs), from their last two T20 internationals at the Gabba. It’s one of the highest scoring venues in limited overs cricket in the country, and the Aussies will be looking to go big to resurrect their net run rate.
Australia to score more than 175 runs
$2.60
David Warner hit back to back scores of 70+ in the lead in games coming into the World Cup, but has started slowly with scores of 5 & 11 to start the tournament. Warner has dominated in T20 cricket at the Gabba, with 142 runs from three innings, at an average of 171. Warner has two half centuries from those three games with a strike rate of 151 and will be looking to bounce back after a slow start to the tournament.
Tip: David Warner, Australia High Bat, $3.60 with TAB
The elephant in the room for this Australian side for the last 24 months has been the struggles from captain Aaron Finch. Finch is averaging 26 at a strike rate of 117 in 2021, the lowest average and strike rate he’s had of any calendar year throughout his career. His innings against Sri Lanka was a painful watch, and given the Aussies desperate need to boost their run rate, expect Finch to go from ball one in this game, which means there will be opportunities for the Irish bowlers to knock over the Australian skipper. Finch has scored under 22 in six of his last eight T20I innings.
Tip: Aaron Finch, Under 21.5 runs, $1.87 with TAB
