Australia's road to 2026: Eyes on Fraser-McGurk and Ellis' chance to lead – T20 IPL 2024

After two poor performances in the space of 48 hours dumped Australia out of the T20 World Cup earlier this year having previously been unbeaten, they are back in action with an eye to building towards the next event in 2026 with three-matches series against Scotland and England. David Warner has retired and other senior players are missing for a variety of reasons meaning there is a fresh look to the squad.

An opening bat-off?

All eyes will be on Jake Fraser-McGurk. But it’s worth remembering that for all the talk he has generated around the world over the last six months or so, he has yet to make his T20I debut. That will come at some point over the next six matches, but there is no guarantee it will always be in the opening position. Australia are expected to look at a few options as they ponder life after Warner.

Xavier Bartlett’s ‘surreal few months’ leaves him eager for more
Connolly’s love of the ‘big moments’ puts him on the fast track
Jos Buttler doubt for Australia T20Is after pulling out of Blast quarter-final

It’s been an interesting winter for Fraser-McGurk after shooting to prominence in the IPL for Delhi Capitals following his ODI debut against West Indies last season where he batted as though it was T20s. He was a traveling reserve for the T20 World Cup amid plenty of discussion that he should have been in the main squad, which wasn’t damped by Australia’s Super Eight exit, even if who he would have replaced was never really answered. Then he struggled for runs in the MLC where he made 81 in seven innings for San Francisco Unicorns.

It could be that captain Mitchell Marsh partners Travis Head at the top and then the order is built from there. It’s conceivable that over six matches there are six different batting orders. Cameron Green is another option after the success he has previously had at the top of the order, although he expanded his finishing game in the IPL.

Chance for Ellis to be the leader

It’s a curious statistic that among Nathan Ellis‘ 25 international appearances to date, only one of them has been at home – a T20I against England in 2022 where he took 3 for 20 in a total of 208 for 6. That will surely change come the November white-ball series against Pakistan, but for now it continues to be on the road where his opportunities come. And this tour represents a chance for him to take the lead in an attack where, through little fault of his own, he has often felt like an understudy.

Ellis’ numbers, particularly in T20Is, suggest he could have had more chances than have come his way. He played four matches at this year’s World Cup, but only when one of the big three was rested. Now, with Josh Hazlewood’s withdrawal from the Scotland series, he is the Australia’s most experienced quick.

It will be interesting to see which phases of the game he is used in. His reputation has been built on being a superb death bowler, but it’s understood that Australia have highlighted their powerplay bowling as an area that needs work. At the last two T20 World Cups crucial defeats by New Zealand (in Sydney) and India (in St Lucia) have come on the back of being dominated by the opposition batters in the first six overs, while against Afghanistan it took them 15.5 overs to break the opening stand.

The swing of Xavier Bartlett will be an option while the pace of Riley Meredith has replaced Hazlewood in the squad. Green will likely have a role with the ball as well in the first six and don’t be surprised to see Australia try and squeeze in an over of spin from someone other than Adam Zampa. But with six matches in 12 days, expect everyone to be given a chance at some stage.

Over to Inglis

One of the significant personnel changes after the T20 World Cup is that Josh Inglis will now get a run as wicketkeeper although the selectors have not yet put a line through Matthew Wade. One of the consequences of Wade not being there, along with Warner’s retirement, is that Australia have lost two left-handers. It was a factor that played in the favour of Cooper Connolly’s selection.

All Inglis’ T20I innings have come in the top five and he struck 110 off 50 balls against India in Visakhapatnam last year batting at No. 3. However, it could be that he slots more directly into Wade’s position lower down as a finisher as Australia assess their options at that crucial, and fiendishly difficult, part of the batting order. Marcus Stoinis had an impressive group stage of the T20 World Cup at No. 5, but there may be consideration given as to where Tim David bats, particularly in the absence of Glenn Maxwell.

Fielding spark

If one area cost Australia in the Caribbean, it was the fielding. They had a horror day against Afghanistan with five drops and other misfields which came off the back of a poor display against Scotland. They will want to significantly sharpen up. The inclusion of a couple of younger names in Fraser-McGurk and Connolly should help, both in terms of skill and energy. Green and Aaron Hardie, who are yet to command regular places in the T20 side, are also good in the field as is Sean Abbott, a late addition after Spencer Johnson’s injury.

Andrew McGlashan is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo

Source: ESPN Crickinfo

An opening bat-off?

Chance for Ellis to be the leader

Over to Inglis

Leave a Reply Cancel reply