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Former Australian cricketer Tom Moody said that the current Australian side is far from the best World Cup sides which won five titles for the country and added that things are not looking good.
Australia lost their fourth successive ODI match to South Africa and their fourth successive WC match since 2019, succumbing to a 134-run loss to South Africa on Thursday at Lucknow. A century from Quinton de Kock, his second successive WC ton and fiery spells from Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj helped Proteas hand over their biggest loss in WC history. Before this WC, Australia had an inconsistent run. In the five-match ODI series against South Africa, they fumbled a 2-0 lead to lose the series 2-3. Then later against India just before the tournament, they lost 2-1 where their struggles against spin in subcontinent conditions were exposed. Moody said in a ESPNCricinfo video that the current Aussie team is far from being among those best Australian sides that won five World Cup titles in past as they have come into the tournament undercooked and faced a lot of injuries before it. "Australia has got a very proud history in 50-over World Cups. 5 WCs in the cabinet, that is a significant cabinet to have. The question is, is this team as good as those teams that won the WCs? The way they are playing at the moment, they are far from it. They are coming to this tournament undercooked, with a lot of players like Pat Cummins not playing a lot of 50-over cricket or any cricket leading upto the tournament. Plus, the out-of the blue injury to Travis Head which sort of threw their thinking around. Marnus Labuschagne came back in and Ashton Agar was injured and could not hold their position. They have faced various obstacles, I am not putting them down as excuses. The bottom line is, the current Australian team, with their preparation, inconsistency in their batting, things are not looking good at the moment," he added. Coming to the match, Australia opted to field first. Quinton de Kock (109 in 106 balls, eight fours and five sixes) smashed his second successive WC ton. Aiden Markram (56 in 44 balls, seven fours and a six) and skipper Temba Bavuma (35 in 55 balls, two fours) also played some solid knocks to power SA to 311/7 in 50 overs. Glenn Maxwell (2/34) and Mitchell Starc (2/53) got two wickets. Also, skipper Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Adam Zampa got a wicket each. In the chase of 312, Australia sank to 70/6 initially, with Kagiso Rabada (3/33) and Keshav Maharaj (2/30) wreaking havoc. A partnership of 69 runs between Marnus Labuschagne (46 in 74 balls, three fours) and Mitchell Starc (27 in 51 balls, three fours) helped the Aussies cross the 100-run mark, but they were bundled out for 177 in 40.5 overs, registering a 134-run loss, their biggest in WC history. Tabraiz Shamsi (2/38) and Marco Jansen (2/54) were also great with the ball. Lungi Ngidi got one wicket. Now, SA is at the top with two wins in two games and four points. Australia is in the ninth spot, having lost both games. De Kock got the 'Player of the Match' award for his ton. (ANI)
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