‘High-pressure experience will come in handy for Australia’

LONDON: Alex Carey, the Australia wicket-keeper batsman, believes the vast experience of the side will be crucial in “high pressure” situations at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019.

Many of the Australian players and support staff have significant World Cup experience. Ricky Ponting, their assistant coach, won the tournament thrice (in 1999, 2003 and 2007), fielding coach Brad Haddin was part of the 2015 title-winning team, and the likes of Aaron Finch, the captain, David Warner, Mitchell Starc, Steve Smith, Pat Cummins and Glenn Maxwell have all played in the previous editions.

“We’ve got a lot of knowledge,” Carey told reporters in London. “Brad Haddin played in the last World Cup, we’ve got Ricky Ponting coming in, we’ve got a number of players who played in that last World Cup.

“We’ve got lots of knowledge around the group of guys to access. When we get into it, that’s when the high-pressure [experience] comes into it.”

The 27-year-old also said Australia would be focused on their own game plans rather than shape them according to the opposition. Australia have won eight straight away One-day Internationals, and Carey attributed that form to this approach.

“We have got a certain game style which has been successful in the last eight games, against quality opposition,” he said. “For us, it is playing to our strengths. Every team in the World Cup has got their strengths. We aren’t too much about opposition’s game style. That’s where we get distracted from what we are really good at.

“So for us, it’s building on our success in the last few months. David [Warner] and Steve [Smith] come back in. Quality players. Aaron Finch is in really good form. Our quicks [are in good form as well]. We got a lot of exciting players.”

Australia will play warm-up matches against England and Sri Lanka before their opening game against Afghanistan on June 1, and Carey is confident they will begin the tournament on a positive note.

“We will start planning. We have warm-up games as well, which will be part of our build-up,” said Carey. “A lot of us have played against a number of their [Afghanistan’s] players. The first game is where we want to hit our straps. They will be keen to start the tournament well, and so are we.”