CWC 2019: Strengths and weaknesses of each team

#5 Australia

Steve Smith and David Warner.

Strengths: Australia have got back into form at the right time and with their star duo of David Warner and Steve Smith returning, Australia are strong contenders to lift the World Cup.

Their strong batting line-up will be one of their strengths and they are really hungry for runs and can really thrash the oppositions on beautiful wickets in England. David Warner, Steve Smith, and Aaron Finch will be looking to get runs under their belt while the power of Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis will be important for them.

Weaknesses: Australia are caught in a bit of a selection conundrum of who is to open the batting with Usman Khawaja and David Warner with both set to adjust their batting positions for the other and if they do the wrong compromise, it might have an adverse effect on the performance on both of them.

Also, despite having a strong pace attack, Australia do miss Josh Hazlewood and Jhye Richardson as Jason Behrendorff and Kane Richardson haven't looked like they are wicket-taking bowlers and Coulter-Nile has been inconsistent with his bowling. Hence, despite having 2 of the best pacers in Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, Australia need to find who the 3rd seamer is and need him to play well.