Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Stoinis will not want to put a single foot wrong in their returns from injury on the eve of the Twenty20 World Cup after Cameron Green did all that could possibly be asked of him to squeeze into the squad on the brief tour of India.
Green’s 19-ball half century in the deciding game, won narrowly by India in Hyderabad, underlined his considerable hitting power, combined with a height that makes it difficult for bowlers to locate a length he cannot swing at freely.
Seeing them well: Cameron Green did everything possible to squeeze into Australia’s Twenty20 World Cup squad.Credit:AP
With middle order specialist Tim David also finding something like his best in the final game, clumping 54 from 27 balls after the Australians had slipped to 6-117 when sent in to bat by Rohit Sharma, the national selectors have more options than places in the XI for their first Cup game in late October. Five more T20s are to be played against West Indies and England before the global event begins.
Head coach Andrew McDonald, one of three selectors alongside chair George Bailey and Tony Dodemaide, made it clear the chosen 15 would only change in the event of injury, but indicated that Green’s exploits meant the panel would have few qualms about including him if compelled to.
“We’ve got a couple of injuries, which are concerning leading into a World Cup – you don’t like to see some of your mainstay players out of the team leading in,” McDonald said. “But we feel as though we’ve got some good options in depth.
“Tim David’s in the 15, and for him to show in this series what he can do, we’ve seen it in the IPL so no-one’s really surprised by it. But we feel as though we keep building depth for the day that comes when we do have some injuries and a side does transition.
“First and foremost, we’ve got a World Cup to embark on, five games before that, and [I’m] really excited by the opportunity for the 15. And if anything were to happen with someone in the 15, I think it’s obvious that we’ve got some good depth there.”
David’s contributions in two out of three matches confirmed his bona fides as an international T20 player, increasing pressure on a middle order also containing Steve Smith (with a series strike rate of 133.33) and an out-of-sorts Glenn Maxwell (seven runs in three innings).
At last year’s World Cup in the UAE, Marsh and Stoinis both made pivotal contributions to Australia’s unexpected lifting of the trophy, but they have struggled to stay on the park in 2022.
Marsh (ankle) has been withdrawn with injuries at some point of every overseas Australian team assignment. Stoinis (side) was unable to complete the Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe series before also missing the India trip. David Warner and Mitchell Starc, each rested, will also return to the squad.
As far as 23-year-old Green is concerned, a clear instruction to take the attack to the opposition resulted in some head-turning moments, particularly in how he was able to take down Jasprit Bumrah, India’s, and perhaps the world’s, outstanding pace bowler.
“He’s certainly embracing the challenge of opening – we’ve asked him to show great intent at the top of the order, and I think everything we’ve seen so far shows that he is doing that,” McDonald said of Green.
“When we did our strategy before we came over here, we thought he had the skill sets to succeed there, and he’s taken on some of the best bowlers in world cricket – you could argue Jasprit’s one of the best T20 bowlers ever.
“It was opportunistic, the way he’s come into the opening position with Davey Warner not here and a couple of other players in our World Cup 15. So [it’s] fortuitous, but he’s taken his opportunity and that’s all you can do.”
What’s not in doubt is that Matthew Wade has a mortgage on the middle order and wicketkeeper’s spot, having reprised his startling 2021 Cup performances with a couple of slashing innings against India.
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