Australia’s U19 Captain Foresees Bright Future for His Fast Bowlers

Australia triumphed over India by 79 runs in the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024, with a significant contribution from their fast bowlers.

Hugh Weibgen, the victorious Australian captain, is confident that his team’s quartet of fast bowlers, who shone in the final against India, are on the path to stardom.

In a bold move, Australia included four fast bowlers in their final team. The decision was vindicated as Callum Vidler, Charlie Anderson, Tom Straker, and Mahli Beardman collectively took seven wickets, leading to a dominant 79-run victory.

Despite a decent total of 253/7, only four Indian batsmen managed to score in double figures. Weibgen attributes much of the victory to the performance of his in-form fast bowlers.

Vidler, Straker, and Beardman finished among the top wicket-takers at the event, while Anderson also made his mark. Weibgen believes that this quartet has the potential to build on their success and have long international careers.

“With a pace attack like ours, we’re confident when we get 250 on the board,” Weibgen said post-match. “Our plan was to score some runs and back ourselves to defend it. They worked well as a unit, knew their roles, and were happy to bowl at either end. I would be surprised if they don’t go a long way in their careers.”

Weibgen also revealed that he noticed a weakness in the Indian batting line-up during a warm-up match in Pretoria. Vidler and Anderson had previously dismantled India’s top order, and Weibgen was confident his fast bowlers could replicate their performance.

“Our fast bowling attack is pretty good,” Weibgen said. “We thought if we could get around 250, we would back ourselves to defend that. We did well in a trial game with the pace bowlers and the pitch here had a bit more bounce, so that was our reasoning. We felt pace was the best chance to get them out and we backed that in.”