Australia is keen to give the remembered off-roader Marcus Stoinis a longer career to help him evolve as a finalist in the mold of former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Vice Captain Pat Cummins said.
Stoinis’ 23 undefeated on 18 balls weren’t enough as Australia went from 124-2 to 148-6 to lose the opening T20I to England by two runs on Friday.
Australia has plenty of top-order hitters for their home T20 teams, but the world’s No. 1 team is still looking for a middle-order hitter who can top off games.
Opening the batting, Stoinis, 31, scored 705 runs for the Melbourne Stars to top the BBL career chart last season. However, his inability to rotate the strike early in the innings has been one of the reasons he was left out of the 2019 World Cup.
“It’s something we’ve talked about for exactly that reason – they’re all the best players when they come back to play in national competitions,” Cummins told the Sydney Morning Herald.
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“You could argue that the middle order role is one of the most difficult on any cricket team. That’s what we’ve identified, we have to give the guys a chance.
“Someone like MS Dhoni, he was one of the best in the world because he played 3-400 ODI games. You saw during practice games this week that we gave a lot of guys a chance. ”Cummins said Australia has identified the roles and wants to give the players enough playing time to consolidate their spots.
“We know that it is not going to happen overnight. That’s been a common theme that the selectors and Finchy have talked about – we’ll identify roles and give them a long run on that.
“I think we have the right team, the right players, it’s about making sure everyone can play a lot of games now,” said the spearhead of the rhythm.
Australia’s first competitive match in nearly six months was played in front of empty stands due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Cummins said it was “strange.”
“I don’t think it made any difference in performance, but it sure was weird,” Cummins said.
“Until Starcy is pitching the first time and you can hear a pin drop, it’s weird. After a couple of laps we got into it.
“It’s strange, unless we create noise in the field, there is absolutely no noise. A little adjustment, but everyone has played cricket quite a bit.
“I don’t think the crowd makes much of a difference most of the time, but it’s certainly different here in England and not listening to some of the songs.” Australia’s number one ranking and a four-win streak in the series will be on the line when they face England in the second T20I on Sunday.
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