“It does leave us in a position where other people might be in control. But if we go through and we’ve only lost one game and we don’t make it, I think we can probably, to a certain extent, be okay with that. But for now, the next focus is Sri Lanka.”
Stoinis was a vital part of last year’s successful Twenty20 World Cup campaign in Dubai, combining with wicketkeeper Matthew Wade for two match-winning partnerships, which ultimately propelled Australia to their inaugural T20 title.
Marcus Stoinis after being dismissed against New Zealand during Australia’s opening T20 World Cup match at the SCG on Saturday night.Credit:Getty Images
The Australians did plenty right during that tournament, but little has fallen into place during a frantic and jumbled build-up to defending their crown at home.
They also suffered a terrible loss, to England, during last year’s T20 World Cup. Bowled out for 125, Australia went down by eight wickets in less than 12 overs.
They recovered to win the event, prompting Stoinis to believe they can do the same again.
“This is what we love to do,” said Stoinis. “We know that we’ve performed under pressure. We know that when our backs are against the wall we can pull out the performances we want.
New Zealand bowling star Trent Boult celebrates a wicket with hard-hitting opening batsman Finn Allen.Credit:AP
“We trust ourselves and we trust each other. I think sometimes the environment helps create a bit of that. And it is tongue in cheek, but we still feed on it and joke about it and stir each other up about it. Hopefully, we’re alright.”
For all his public optimism, Stoinis admits Australia’s title defence “could be” over, depending on how results fall.
“But not if we rock up in Perth and do what we need to do, and then we rock up to the MCG [against England] in front of a big crowd and do what we need to do, then all of a sudden the narrative is turning and we’re flying,” he said.
“As much as we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, we know that if we put some good performances on the board and we play like we can, that we will look after it.”
Australian coach Andrew McDonald at the SCG on SaturdayCredit:Getty Images
Stoinis believes Australia will take the same side into Tuesday’s game and coach Andrew reinforced that the team was going to continue the same style and tactics which worked in Dubai last year despite the poor performance in Sydney.
“We feel we built a way of playing leading into the game and we are not going to change that after one game,” McDonald said. “If you shift off that too quickly then you start to get a little bit lost and start to chase your tail.
“We’ll probably reinforce what we’ll do and it will look pretty similar to this game, obviously selection around surfaces and opponents will always be factored in.”
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