Australia coach Andrew McDonald has said that skipper Mitchell Marsh isn’t ready to bowl yet in the T20 World Cup and will be playing as a pure batter in their opener against Oman. Marsh is returning to the side after an injury layoff as he picked up the issue during the IPL 2024 campaign. The all-rounder would have to return from India back home for rehabilitation and cut short his IPL 2024 campaign.
Marsh would reveal that he was getting good when the team was announced and was part of the side that faced West Indies and was dismissed for four runs. Speaking after the game, McDonald said the warm-up games was all about ticking off where Marsh’s fitness was. The Australia coach said that the skipper has built up confidence after fielding for a few more overs and was able to move freely.
“For Mitch, (the warm-up games) was about ticking off where his body was at,” McDonald told cricket.com.au.
“He fielded more overs tonight, he was able to move more freely, so he’s building a little bit of confidence there. It looks as though he’s all set for the first game.
“The second part is just when the bowling comes back online â€æ it won’t be the first game.”
The match against West Indies saw the hosts hit the Aussies for 257 runs on the back of Nicholas Pooran’s 75. McDonald said that conceding close to 260 runs in a T20 game isn’t ideal but they were working on a few plans.
“To concede 260-odd runs in a T20 game is not ideal,” said McDonald.
“But we were working through some plans, we were working through what we needed to get out of the game, so there was a little bit of â€æ working on certain deliveries and certain things that can unfold.
“I’m sure the West Indies were the same as well, I’m sure they were working on things that weren’t associated with the opponent they were playing.”
