World T20 2016: Australia Player Ratings

Australia landed in India with the hopes of winning the only trophy which was missing in their winner’s cabinet – World T20. A highly dominating performance was anticipated from the Aussies but they could not perform to their capabilities. The tournament began on bad not as they lost to the arch-rivals New Zealand. But, they kept their hopes alive by beating Bangladesh and Pakistan in the following games. However, the loss in the opening game meant that they faced a must-win situation in their last league match against India. Unfortunately, they lost to India and were knocked out of the tournament. Consequently, their hopes of conquering the 20 overs format was also washed away completely.

Steven Smith – 5/10:

Steven Smith was very dismal with the bat. His only noteworthy show with the bat came against Pakistan where scored an unbeaten 61 off just 43 balls. In all, Smith made 83 run in four matches. As the skipper, he could have used his spinners in a more productive manner. Many fans questioned his decision of under using Adam Zampa in the tournament.

David Warner – 2/10:

David Warner sacrificed his opening spot for the sake of team experimentation. This move did not do any good from team’s perspective as Warner had an unpleasant time with the bat. he could accumulate only 38 runs in the four matches. Out of these four games, he could reach double figures only once.

Usman Khawaja – 6/10:

Usman Khawaja was Australia’s top run-getter this World T20. Although he didn’t replicate his fiery BBL form, Khawaja managed to adjust to the Indian condition and did a satisfying job as an opener. He scored 143 runs at an average of 35.75 in the four games he played. His best knock of the tournament came against Bangladesh where he struck a fluent 58 off 45 deliveries.

Aaron Finch – 5/10:

Aaron Finch was included in the playing XI during the latter stages of the tournament and could play only two games. He did not totally disappoint and performed relatively well. In the 1st match against Pakistan where he was dismissed for 15. However, he was good in the next match against India where he scored 43 from 34 balls opening the innings.

Glenn Maxwell – 5/10:

The flashy middle order batsman fulfilled his responsibility to an extent in the tournament. Maxwell played crucial quickfire knocks in the middle order while being reasonably economical with his part time off breaks. In all, he reaped 109 runs with the bat (2nd highest for Australia) including two important 30 plus scores. With the ball, he took two wickets in four games and was quite helpful for the skipper during the middle overs.

Shane Watson – 6/10:

Shane Watson had a silent tournament. The 34-year-old started pretty badly and his only notable performance of the tournament was the superb 24-ball 44 runs knock against Pakistan batting at number 5. Apart from that, his contribution to the team was quite under-par. Watto also picked 5 wickets in the tournament and his best came against India in the last league game where he returned with figures of 2/23. He finished his stay in India with 96 runs from four games.

James Faulkner – 7.5/10:

The all-rounder did not have big opportunities with the bat. However, he did a wonderful job with the ball, finishing as the highest wicket-taker for his team with 8 wickets from 4 matches. The canny medium pacer was Steven Smith’s main weapon during the death overs. His best performance of the tournament was the 5/27 which he took against Pakistan in the do-or-die game at Mohali.

Peter Nevill – 5/10

Peter Nevill was selected primarily as a wicketkeeper in the squad and did a good job. Nevill played in all games and claimed two dismissals behind the wicket. He rarely got any opportunity with the bat.

Adam Zampa – 8/10:

Adam Zampa was picked over Cameron Boyce as the first choice leg-spinner for the World T20. He repaid the trust of the selectors by being the best overall performer with the ball for Australia. Zampa claimed 5 wickets at an average of 13.80 maintaining a miserly economy of 6.27. Strangely, he was underused by skipper Smith and bowled his full quota of four over in only two matches.

Also read: Elucidating the mystery that is Adam Zampa

Josh Hazlewood – 3/10:

It was an average tournament for Josh Hazlewood. The new spearhead of the bowling attack was included in the playing XI just for two games. His performance in the first game against Pakistan (1/26) was up to the mark but his last game against India (0/38) was quite disappointing.

Nathan Coulter-Nile – 2/10 :

T20 specialist Nathan Coulter-Nile got all the Super 10 stage game to play. But the right-arm seamer did not make any huge difference with the ball and could pick only one wicket in the tournament at the cost of 132 runs in 16 overs.

Mitchell Marsh – 5/10:

The fast bowling all-rounder got only two games. Marsh’s best performance in the tournament came against New Zealand where picked 1/26 with the ball and later scored run a ball innings of 24 runs. Australia, unfortunately, lost the match closely. His 2nd match against Bangladesh was a forgettable outing. In all, he could score only 30 runs and took a single wicket.

John Hastings – 4/10:

John Hastings played in only one game against Bangladesh. He went wicketless in the match but was quite economical, finishing with figures of 0/24. It was really difficult to squeeze him in the bowling line-up which was doing a consistent job.

Ashton Agar – 1/10:

Aston Agar played only in the first game against New Zealand. He just bowled one over in the tournament and was hammered for 18 run in it. Following which he was not considered for the rest of the Super 10 stage games. Being a left arm spinner, it was expected that he would create some impact in India but he failed.

How well did the Indian team play? – World T20 2016: India Player Ratings