Hosts look to inject momentum into slow campaign

One win. One washout. One loss. Australia wouldn't have thought that the first half of their World Cup group matches would pan out this way. But you cannot control the weather, which was really bad in Brisbane, and as Michael Clarke said, Australia were beaten by a quality New Zealand side in Auckland. Afghanistan may just run into a keyed-up outfit determined to put that narrow loss behind them.

In terms of occasion, it is a big one for Afghanistan: playing the No. 1 ODI team at their home on one of the most storied grounds in world cricket. But it is no longer just about the platform for Mohammad Nabi and his men. When asked how it felt to play against big sides, he said that while earlier the players used to get pretty excited, now they had become used to it.

Now that they are more comfortable on this stage, Afghanistan will also be expected to continue their overall improvement in this tournament. Their batting froze against Bangladesh. However, they gave Sri Lanka a proper scare, and their last wicket added 19 to drag them home against Scotland for their first ever World Cup victory.

UAE just could not handle the bounce in Perth against India last week, and Afghanistan will like to put up a much better show than their fellow Associates.

Australia play two games in five days in Perth and Sydney, against Sri Lanka, before a five-day break leading into their final group match against Scotland. Clarke was already asked about where Australia were targeting finishing in their group. He said that coach Darren Lehmann had told the side to focus their energies solely on Afghanistan for the moment, which is what he and his players were doing. Which is understandable too, for going by how their first three matches went, there is no point looking too far ahead.

FORM GUIDE

(last five matches, most recent first)

Australia LWWWW

Afghanistan WLLWL

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Barring Samiullah Shenwari, none of the Afghanistan batsmen have gone past 100 runs halfway through their group-stage campaign. Afghanistan had slumped to 3 for 3 in Canberra when faced with accurate quick bowling from Bangladesh. Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc bowling in tandem on the WACA pitch will mean relentless, extreme pace in helpful conditions.

They may not be as quick as the two Mitchells but Hamid Hassan, Shapoor Zadran and Dawlat Zadran could be a handful on this pitch. Australia were outbowled by New Zealand in Auckland and will have to avoid getting too adventurous too soon in Perth.

TEAM NEWS

Pat Cummins has been ruled out of the game after he picked up a niggle in Auckland. It should be a straight swap for Josh Hazlewood, who had been replaced by Cummins for the New Zealand game. Steven Smith was hit on his hand by a spinner in the nets but resumed batting, and Michael Clarke said he was fine. James Faulkner's availability will hinge on how he pulls up after bowling in the side's optional training session on Monday afternoon.

Australia 1 Aaron Finch, 2 David Warner, 3 Shane Watson, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 Steven Smith, 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Mitchell Marsh, 8 Brad Haddin (wk), 9 Mitchell Johnson, 10 Mitchell Starc, 11 Josh Hazlewood

Afghanistan could stick to the same side that scraped past Scotland in Dunedin. Mirwais Ashraf's injury has robbed them of 10 overs of accurate medium-pace but Mohammad Nabi said Gulbadin Naib had come in and done a good job in their previous game.

Afghanistan 1 Javed Ahmadi, 2 Nawroz Mangal, 3 Asghar Stanikzai, 4 Samiullah Shenwari, 5 Mohammad Nabi (capt), 6 Najibullah Zadran, 7 Afsar Zazai (wk), 8 Gulbadin Naib, 9 Dawlat Zadran, 10 Hamid Hassan, 11 Shapoor Zadran

PITCH AND CONDITIONS

UAE lasted 31.3 overs against India three days ago on this ground. And the curator had expected a bit more out of that pitch. This one does not appear as dry as the earlier one. It had plenty of grass a couple of days before the match, but that has progressively been shaved off. There should be some pace and bounce in it. Maximum temperature is forecast to be in the early 30s.

QUOTES

"I think they've performed really well. I think a few of their individuals in particular have really stood up and performed well. There might be a bit of pace out there as well for their opening bowlers who have done a very good job throughout this tournament."

Michael Clarke on Afghanistan