The Australians have won the ICC World Cup five times and are the defending champions going into the 2019 quadrennial tournament in the United Kingdom. The Baggy Greens went through a patch of poor form in the limited-overs format last year and matters were worse when their star batsmen Steve Smith and David Warner were banned after the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.

However, the Australians managed to race back to form with Smith and Warner being absent. They beat India 3-2 at their own backyard and Pakistan 5-0 in a five-match ODI series, earlier this year.

With Smith and Warner back in the Australian set-up, former India Test captain Anil Kumble believes that the Australians will certainly make it to the semi-finals.

“They’ve always done well in the World Cup and they have a good strong squad. They know the conditions in England really well and I think they have the ability to go all the way. Australia have had the success of knowing and being a part of a winning team that certainly is important in a World Cup tournament. They should definitely make it to the semis,” said Kumble told Cricket Next.

Aaron Finch has been leading the Australians very well in the shorter formats and he will certainly be happy to take inputs from experienced players such as Smith and Warner during the World Cup.

First Published: May 17, 2019 17:01 IST