Australia to take on West Indies in must-win cricket tri-series elimination clas

Australia to take on West Indies in must-win cricket tri-series elimination clash
JUNE 21, 20169:42AM

Steve Smith: 'We weren't up to scratch'

STEVE Smith can’t wait to see how his young Australian side handles the pressure of knockout cricket.
Australia confront the West Indies in Barbados at 3am on Wednesday in a virtual semi-final of the ODI tri-series.
Victory will seal their place in the series decider, also at Kensington Oval next Monday.
Defeat will mean the World Cup holders head home.

David Warner’s broken finger has left a team in transition even more bereft of experience.
Smith is one of just six players remaining from the XI that defeated New Zealand in the 2015 World Cup final.
The skipper, who spoke pre-series of having one eye on next year’s Champions Trophy, knows high-stakes games are invaluable experience for his squad.

“It’s always nice to play in finals or to have things that replicate finals, to bring out high-pressure situations,” Smith said earlier this week, prior to a washed-out clash with South Africa.
“Seeing how the guys respond to those situations is going to be important for us as well.
“I know the guys want to be in the final, they want to win this series.”
Smith added that high-pressure games tend to bring out the best in Australia, who risk suffering consecutive ODI series losses after they were trumped by New Zealand in February.

James Faulkner is seemingly a good example.
Faulkner was named man-of-the-match in the 2015 World Cup final, having busted the game open with a haul of 3-36.
The allrounder, who detailed how it hurt to be left out of the XI earlier in the series, was comfortable with the tournament boiling down to two matches.

“If we don’t win tomorrow we don’t deserve to be in the final,” Faulkner said.


Australian bowler James Faulkner says his side must win or they don’t deserve to make the tri-series final. Picture: AFPSource:AFP

Selectors have seemingly all but settled on their side for the game, with the only question being whether legspinner Adam Zampa or paceman Nathan Coulter-Nile claims the final spot.
Scott Boland played ahead of the pair in the wash-out against South Africa but was notably the only quick to bowl in the nets on Tuesday (AEST).
Faulkner talked up the threat of the hosts, noting they defeated Australia in St Kitts last week.
But the Tasmanian took heart from a pitch that should offer 300-plus totals.

“Before we came here we talked about Barbados specifically being as close to Australia as we can get (in the Caribbean),” he said.
“I’m expecting a lot of runs.”
Faulkner famously rowed with West Indies at the 2014 World T20 but suggested relations between the sides were now a lot better.
“There’s been a lot of cricket played since then,” he said.

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