Big Picture
Australia dominated ICC events last year with the World Test Championship and ODI World Cup prizes. Now they begin their quest to be champions across all three formats. Could it be called the men's cricket Grand Slam? Well, the 50-over Champions Trophy returns next year but let's not allow such details to get in the way of an intro.
They reached the final of the T20 World Cup when it was held in the Caribbean in 2010 when they fell short against England, but after that it wasn't until 2021 that they left a mark on the tournament by breaking their title duck in the UAE. Their defence on home soil the following year was disappointing, but the majority of that side remains to have another crack this time.
Their opening game will bring them up against Oman for the first time which, on paper, should be a significant mismatch. Oman began their tournament with a Super Over defeat against Namibia having shown tremendous resilience to take the game that deep and their captain Aqib Ilyas was talking up the opportunity his team had to make names for themselves.
It has been a disjointed build-up for Australia with just nine players available for the two warm-up matches against Namibia and West Indies (Brad Hodge, George Bailey and Andrew McDonald were back in the fold to make up numbers in the field) after those who appeared late into the IPL were given a chance to return home for a few days.
There have been some long journeys since - Cameron Green said it took Mitchell Starc about 60 hours to reach Barbados - and some delayed luggage along the way, but everyone has been together for a few days and, as history shows, put a global trophy on the line and Australia players tend to lift.
This tournament could mark the beginning of a transition in Australia's white-ball cricket. David Warner's international career will come to a close in the next few weeks while there are others who are closer to the end than the beginning.
They are being led for the first time at a global event by Mitchell Marsh whose rise to the captaincy is the latest chapter in the terrific story of his revival at international level.
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