?Play with freedom?: Australia?s top order has licence to thrill in Pakistan semi-final - Sydney Morning Herald

Glenn Maxwell insists the stardust from his rampant Indian Premier League campaign remains as the Australian team backs their top order muscle to floor Pakistan and give themselves a shot at Twenty20 World Cup glory.

Australia’s women adopted the mantra of playing fearless cricket in its fairytale success last year, and their male colleagues are aiming to do something similar in their semi-final in the Middle East.

What had been shaping as a weakness leading into the tournament now was a strength for Justin Langer’s men as they recovered from a bruising loss to England to move within two wins from claiming Australia’s first men’s T20 world title.

There has been a strong correlation between the fortunes of the team and its opening pair David Warner and Aaron Finch, who, after a scratchy start, have delivered performances which have left teammates and coaches confident they are peaking when it matters most.

Though teams can live and die by the blades of their openers, Australia has bolstered its batting depth with wicketkeeper/batter Matthew Wade at seven to give their top order a licence to thrill.

It is likely to be a formula the side will stick with for the semi on Friday morning (1am AEDT) having deviated from it against England.

“For us, it’s to play with freedom, to back the fact we’ve got a really strong top order, we’re playing the extra batter, we’ve got a fair bit of batting there,” Maxwell said.