Following a series loss to Pakistan that devastated their preparations, captain Mitchell Marsh is adamant that Australia can move past their spin problems at the T20 Cricket World Cup.
It has been a terrifying build-up, but the 2021 champions are title challengers at the event in India and Sri Lanka starting on Saturday. In Lahore, they lost to Pakistan by 22 runs, 90, and then a thumping 111, which was their biggest T20 loss ever.
Pakistan spinners strangled them after outplaying them with bat and ball. Marsh insisted that they took some lessons from their crushing defeat by Pakistan and defended the team’s record in the spin-friendly conditions they will face.
“In isolation, purely in this series, we struggled. But over the last 18 months I think as a team we’ve been one of the best teams in the world, and we’ve played spin really well. We’ll take the learnings, we’ll move on to the World Cup and we know we’re a very good side in all conditions,” AFP quoted Marsh as saying.
In Pakistan, they were without Tim David and Glenn Maxwell, two powerful hitters with a track record of defeating spin. It will be a wonderful boost to have them back.
“We know that conditions can spin in Sri Lanka and we’ll assess that when we get there. We’ve got some extremely good players of spin coming back and experience coming back,” added Marsh, who will open with Travis Head.
Australia’s issues are made worse by the fact that Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, two of their best pacers, will be out of the tournament. While Hazlewood, who is prone to injuries, is dealing with hamstring and Achilles issues, Cummins is still recuperating from a lower back injury.
Spinner Adam Zampa is apparently suffering from a groin ailment, and fellow speedster Nathan Ellis is also returning from injury. Australia will play Ireland in Colombo on Wednesday to begin their title challenge.
At the World Cup, their team will be dominated by spin, with part-timer Maxwell and left-armers Matt Kuhnemann and Cooper Connolly supporting Zampa, if he is fit. Sean Abbott covers, while Ellis, Xavier Bartlett, and Ben Dwarshuis—a last-minute Cummins replacement—provide the seam options.
Despite the fact that none of them have performed well in the game’s shortest format in recent months, Marsh, Head, David, Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, and Cameron Green will lead the batting.
It is controversial that a form player and one of Australia’s top hitters against spin will not be there. Despite his explosive Big Bash League form as an opener, Steve Smith was overlooked for the tournament. The selectors stated that since Marsh and Head are at the top of the order, there was no place for him.
Australia will play 12th-ranked Zimbabwe, 20th-ranked Oman, and co-hosts Sri Lanka after their match against Ireland. The top two teams advance to the Super Eights.
