Devastated Australia Look to Other Results as Marshs Side Face Exit

After successive defeats to Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, Australia are virtually on the brink of elimination from the T20 World Cup, with disappointment sweeping through the camp. The team is now largely dependent on other results.

With co-host Sri Lanka chasing down 182 in just 18 overs in Pallekele, Australia’s path to the Super Eights has become complicated. They now need the remaining group results to go in their favour and must also secure a big win over Oman. For Australia to progress, Zimbabwe must lose to both Ireland and Sri Lanka. Even then, Australia would need to surpass Zimbabwe on net run rate. At present, Zimbabwe hold a significantly better net run rate.

After the eight-wicket defeat, captain Mitchell Marsh said, “Everyone in the dressing room is shattered. We’re devastated. We’re now relying on luck. There’s a lot of emotion. We haven’t played our best cricket.”

He added, “We’ll definitely be watching tomorrow’s match (Zimbabwe vs Ireland). Whether we watch it together or not, we’ll see. What can you say — the luck of the Irish?”

Against Sri Lanka, Australia had made a flying start, reaching 97 without loss in eight overs. But they then lost all 10 wickets in the next 12 overs. Their run rate, which had been above 12 per over early on, dropped to around seven. Marsh pointed to this phase as the key reason behind the loss.

“Our execution let us down tonight. We have some of Australia’s best players of spin in that full-strength batting line-up. Sri Lanka pulled things back beautifully. Given the start we had, we needed a bigger total. We probably needed those extra runs going into the second innings.”

Marsh continued, “It’s hard to say what would have happened if we had made 220. We had a good platform but couldn’t capitalise at the back end. Partnerships are crucial in these conditions. Outside the opening stand, we weren’t able to build another one.”

For a confident Australian side, this is a bitter position to be in. They were so assured of reaching the Super Eights that they delayed announcing a replacement for the injured Josh Hazlewood. The team was considering whether to bring in seamer Sean Abbott or batter Steven Smith.

Eventually, Smith was named as Hazlewood’s replacement on Monday. However, he did not feature against Sri Lanka, as Marsh returned to the XI after recovering from a groin injury.

Marsh, however, does not see the selection uncertainty as a factor in their current predicament. “Over the last two years in white-ball cricket, we’ve had changes in the squad almost every tour. That’s nothing new. We were simply outplayed tonight — and that’s the disappointing part.”