NEWS
Follow UsAustralia have named plenty of new faces for the T20 International (T20I) series against Scotland, starting September 4 (Wednesday) in Edinburgh. They crashed out at the Super 8s stage in the T20 World Cup 2024, and in the absence of a frontline bowling attack and the retirement of David Warner, they are forced to go in with somewhat of a second-string side.
Skipper Mitchell Marsh believes that this is not a reset by any stretch of imagination but an opportunity for some new players to come in and grab their chances. “I don’t think it’s a reset,” Marsh said ahead of the first T20I.
“I think there’s certainly opportunity for guys to come in and get their opportunity, but I wouldn’t say it’s a reset We’ve got a bit of experience that are missing out on this tour, but all these guys have certainly earned their spot. They all bring different skill sets and the thing we spoke about is just coming together as a unit.
“That’s one of the great challenges of international cricket is feeling comfortable at that level and that’s our job as leaders, to make the guys feel really comfortable. They’ll be challenged, they’ll be under pressure, but looking after each other, having fun and enjoying playing international cricket is really important for us.”
While Marsh said Warner would be missed, he further added that the younger guys in the team can learn from him. “Davey was obviously one of our best to ever do it, and he always brought so much experience and no matter who he played against, he was always up for the challenge playing cricket for Australia,” he said.
“I think that’s probably something that our young guys can learn from, but he’ll always be missed.”
While Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc have been rested, Josh Hazlewood will miss the Scotland T20Is due to injury. However, Marsh has insisted that he has full faith in the guys in the team at his disposal.
“Patty, Hoff, Starkey, they’re a real unit when they bowl together on the field and that’s something we want to bring from our, I guess, lesser experienced players,” he said.
“But got full faith in them, they’re extremely skilful and I’m looking forward to them having a crack. I think we’ve got a really energetic young group who are champing at the bit to play for Australia and that’s really exciting.”
After the three T20Is against Scotland, Australia will continue their UK tour with the tour of England, against whom they will play three T20Is and five One-Day Internationals (ODI), starting September 11.
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