In response to criticism of their preparations and a “false narrative” that the country is not taking the format seriously, Australia’s head coach Andrew McDonald placed the players at the center of the team’s humiliating T20 World Cup departure.
After suffering defeats to Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, Australia was eliminated from the group stage, which caused tensions at home.
Former players and commentators have focused on Australia’s tournament preparations, pointing out that players arrived late to a warm-up series in Pakistan after giving the Big Bash League priority.
The Aussies lost to Pakistan 0-3 and in the T20 World Cup, were unable to advance to the Super Eight stage.
McDonald claimed that Australia had been “fully locked into (it) for a period of time” in response to criticism that they had not made the tournament a priority.
“I have heard that sort of narrative that T20 World Cups don’t matter to us. I think all that is a response to the performances of Australian cricket teams in these competitions. We won in 2021 and we haven’t been as successful since then. The expectations on the Australian cricket team are high — and rightfully so. But to sit back and say that we’re prioritising other formats or other versions of the game and not the T20 World Cup is entirely false,” he told reporters.
Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, two of Australia’s top pace bowlers, were sidelined by injuries, but McDonald claimed the other players were competent but had not performed.
“It shouldn’t be about the players that we’re missing. It should be looking at the performances and we’re disappointed in those. We need to own those and the critique is fair and reasonable,” said McDonald, who is also a selector.
Later on Friday, Australia will play Oman in Pallekele in a dead rubber to end their tournament.
