Steve Smith remains firmly in Australia's plans for the upcoming T20 World Cup despite being left out of the starting XI for last night's final against New Zealand, with the former captain set to remain in place for the remaining matches against New Zealand. The Black Caps are set to play as the opening pitcher in at least one game.
Given that Smith has not played in the T20 international format since late last year, and that many other candidates for the top batting spots at the World Cup have staked their rights ahead of him, Smith's position in the T20 standings is The position has been a source of continued speculation. .
However, Australian men's team coach Andrew McDonald admitted Smith would get his chance at Auckland's Eden Park. The current T20 campaign against New Zealand concludes tomorrow and Sunday.
And McDonald will open in Smith's new look as the Australian brains prepare for a two-match Test against the Black Caps starting next week while fine-tuning their confidence balance ahead of June's World Cup. He is most likely to get a chance as a batsman, suggesting that he is likely to partner with David Warner.
Following a shock Test loss to the West Indies last month, Australia moved to the top of the ICC World Test Championship standings with a 2-0 win over a weakened South Africa as NZ moved to the top of the ICC World Test Championship standings. The two tests at Church were the main focus. of this tour.
This means some players involved in both formats, including Smith and priority T20 opener Travis Head, will be part of the limited-overs effort when the rest of the Test squad arrives in Auckland this weekend. It will be a combination of red ball training.
But despite playing just two T20Is in the past 15 months – both against India in the bilateral series following last year's ODI World Cup victory – Smith has played in the Caribbean and the US. He is firmly in the lineup for this year's featured 20-over tournament. .
“If he wasn't in our thoughts, he wouldn't be on the plane here,” McDonald said of Smith after Australia's thrilling opener win over New Zealand in Wellington on Wednesday night. Ta.
“There's a reason we're playing him.
“He'll get some chances here. He had some chances in India towards the end of the World Cup and he had plans to play in South Africa as far back as August-September (last year). Unfortunately, he missed those three one-day events due to a wrist injury at the time.
“But he's definitely thinking.
“We'll probably be playing him in a slightly different role in T20 cricket than we've seen in previous World Cups.
“He has moved up to the top of the order in recent times, so there is still some competition for the top batsmen.
“I think that's a good problem to have.”
Warner and Head have been identified as the likely opening pairing when the World Cup kicks off in early June, with Smith's role currently being replaced by captain Mitchell Marsh (3) and Glenn Maxwell (4). ), and is expected to be a supplementary top hitter along with last night's hero, Tim. David (6 people) settled down in turn.
The selectors will also have to choose between keeper-batsman Matthew Wade and Josh Inglis, while all-rounder Matt Short was not required for either bat or ball in his boundary blitz in Wellington, and will be playing seam bowling. He continues to compete head-to-head with other all-rounders for a mid-ranked spot. Marcus Stoinis (injured).
While the three-game series against New Zealand will be a valuable indicator for Australia's final 15-man squad for the World Cup, McDonald's performances in the subsequent Indian Premier League, which will feature a large number of players, will also stand out. During the selection discussions that he claimed would appear.
“We think we have 20 players, but at this stage it's not decided who will be in the final 15, which is why these games are really important,” McDonald said.
“And a lot of our players are also in the IPL, so we get to see again what certain players are doing in that tournament and that's probably our biggest connection to international cricket.
“In terms of domestic format, I think this is the best tournament in the world.
“We here are not looking to reach the final 11, but we will strive to reach the 15th and have as many options as possible within that 15 to negate whatever the West Indies surface challenges us. we intend to give ourselves.”
Also, Australia's 'big three' fast bowlers Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood (who last night played a T20I together for the first time since the 2022 Australia World Cup) will play a variety of games in New Zealand's remaining two matches. It seems likely that it will be difficult for the time being. Prepare for test work.
Australia have reserve players Nathan Ellis and Spencer Johnson in their current touring squad, and MacDonald got plenty from the experienced trio in last night's bat-dominated series opener and will be on hand for June's World Championships. He showed he is ready for the Cup campaign.
Cummins and Starc will have an opportunity to further hone their T20 skills in the upcoming IPL, while Hazlewood, who played in the recent Dettol limited-overs series against West Indies, will miss the tournament as she returns home on paternity leave. will not participate. .
“I thought it was really great to see Staci and Patty come back and do what they did,” McDonald said of the two hitters, who had records of 1-39 and 1-43 in four overs, respectively. ” he said. The friendly Wellington Stadium pitch.
“In their ordering, it was an unforgiving surface and a small border, so some of the numbers don't look that good on their own, but when you put them in relative terms across the game, they held up pretty well. Ta.
“There are definitely challenges in the transition (to white-ball cricket), but we feel this is an opportunity for them to play together to get ready for the World Cup.
“And we also have a Test series coming up, so there will be a bit of rotation between the three games.”
Wellington's small square boundaries contrast with Eden Park's short, straight scoring zones, but the bowlers are expected to be under extreme pressure again in the final two games of the season .
That was the case for the spinners in the first match, with Australia's pair of Maxwell and Adam Zampa finishing with 0-74 from a total of five overs, while the Black Caps' pair of Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi With 2 wins and 84 losses from 8 overs, Australia ended the T20I with the highest score. I'll follow you at the venue.
Last night's match was also the fourth time that Australian bowlers have conceded more than 200 runs in a T20 international tournament.
However, McDonald pointed to the fact that three of those matches (against the West Indies in Hobart and Adelaide, and the win in Wellington) led to wins for the team, and this big total meant the team was looking ahead to the next match. He claimed that it represents his condition and mindset while preparing for the event. World Cup.
“I think there are a lot of things to consider in order to score over 200 points, including the surface, the venue, and the width of the boundaries,” he said.
“When teams are free to play for the World Cup, there's a bit of a question of, 'Okay, how far can we go as a hitting unit and what totals do we need?'
“It brings freedom, but it will be interesting to see if you see it in the World Cup or if you see that kind of freedom in tournament play.
“We are seeing that in the bilateral series at the moment and it makes for good, entertaining cricket.”
Qantas New Zealand Tour
February 21st: First T20: Australia wins by 6 wickets with 0 balls to spare.
February 23rd: 2nd T20, Auckland, 5:10pm AEDT
February 25th: Third T20, Auckland, 11am AEDT
Australia T20 team: Mitchell Marsh (c), Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Stark, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
New Zealand T20 team: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Tim Seifert, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson, Mitchell Santner (c), Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson , Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Trent Boult
February 29th – March 4th: First Test, Wellington, 9am AEDT
March 8th-12th: Second Test, Christchurch, 9am AEDT
Australian Test Team: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Nether, Matthew Nether Renshaw, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc
New Zealand Test Team: Tim Southey (c), Tom Blundell (wk), Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Scott Kuggelein, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Will O'Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner , Neil Wagner, Kane Williamson, Will Young.