A 3-0 whitewash in Pakistan, including a 111-run loss in the final game in Lahore, world-class fast bowlers missing out because of injury and only 13 players available for selection for their T20 World Cup opener against Ireland in Colombo on Wednesday — Australia are not in the best shape. This is the first ICC event in nearly a decade where Australia will be without Mitchell Starc (retired), Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood (both injured). The team will miss out on the trio’s knowledge of the conditions. They have travelled with a relatively inexperienced squad — Nathan Ellis with 32 caps is the most experienced among seamers alongside Xavier Bartlett (18) and Ben Dwarshuis (14). Beyond them the two all-rounders Cameron Green and Marcus Stoinis have to do the heavy lifting. A late start to the tournament came as a blessing in disguise for fast bowler Ellis and spinner Adam Zampa. Both of them landed in Colombo with niggles but have now recovered. However, hard-hitting batsman Tim David is still not match-fit. On Tuesday at Australia’s training session, the number of support staff clearly outnumbered the players. Pooled alongside hosts Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Ireland and Oman, Australia are favourites to top Group B. “We’ve sort of built out a squad of maybe 18 to 20 people that have played over the last 12 months and we’ve got game time for all of them. They’ve all faced different situations in matches and whilst some of them haven’t played a lot for Australia, they’ve played a lot of cricket and we’ve got great confidence that they’re going to be able to do the job for us,” Australia captain Mitchell Marsh said. Batting power Batting is their strong suit with power-packed batsmen operating till No.7, which helped them score at a higher run-rate than India last year. However, the last few months have seen a downward curve. Moreover, the slow conditions in Sri Lanka, similar to what they encountered in Pakistan, will test them. Marsh has told his team to start with a clean slate. Their power-packed batting can put to the sword the best of bowlers. Beyond Marsh, there is Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Green, Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, David. There is also the highly-rated Cooper Connolly to provide the finishing touches.Story continues below this ad “Look we do have a lot of power in our unit, but we’ve also got a lot of skill and a lot of experience from one to seven. So I think it’s just play what’s in front of us, adapt to the conditions, communicate really well, and whatever’s thrown at us, just jump at the opportunity and have a crack,” Marsh said. But will this batting unit be able to flex its muscles in the slow conditions? “I think we certainly want to be positive in the way we go about things. In these conditions it’s just about being really clear on how you’re going to go about it and playing what’s in front of you. The word adaptability has been thrown around in our team meetings so far and just adapt to whatever situation is put in front of us and get the job done,” Marsh said. Because of the conditions, Australia have to slightly change their template and play two spinners in the XI, which they seldom do. While Zampa, understandably will be the main spinner, left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann will play the second fiddle. “I think most teams will be leaning on their spinners, But we’ve seen over time that pace bowlers still play a big role in the way we shape up. So I’m looking forward to that,” Marsh said.
Australia’s power-packed batting unit must deliver in absence of Cummins and Hazlewood
