Glenn Maxwell feels that captain Mitchell Marsh is close to making a significant impact with the bat. Marsh has not bowled since leaving the IPL due to a hamstring injury. But now his cautious approach has been taken to his return with the initial rehab taking a little longer than expected.
However, Marsh has declared himself ready to bowl in the Super Eight T20 World Cup 2024 stage. Yeah, it gives Australia another option ahead of their game against Bangladesh in Antigua.
“I’ll be available to bowl,” he declared. “I don’t really see a need for me to bowl with the lineup that we have.”
With Marcus Stoinis playing a significant role, Australia has not been lacking despite Marsh being rested from bowling duties. Against Scotland, they employed 12 overs of spin in anticipation of possible Super Eight conditions.
Marsh Ready to Contribute with the Ball
Marsh said, “Physically, I feel good.” “Normally, I crack jokes about how nice it is to take a brief break from bowling. But because Stoinis and I are all-around and we love the game, we talk about it a lot.”
Marsh would not say if Australia would stick with their balance of attack against Scotland or go back to using three specialist quicks against Bangladesh. The numbers at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium are skewed by four-wicket hauls for Adam Zampa and Adil Rashid against Oman and Namibia, so the spinners haven’t received much help thus far.
However, Australia is on guard for severely spinning conditions in St Vincent when they play Afghanistan. Maxwell can be the second spinner if Australia decides to activate both Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood in their starting lineup after they were rested against Scotland.
With 63 runs between them in seven innings, Maxwell and Marsh are the only two Australian batting order members who have not yet found success at the World Cup. However, Maxwell was optimistic that he and the skipper would have a significant influence.
“That England game gave Mitch and I a lot of confidence for the roles we played,” Maxwell said to Around The Wicket. “We feel like we played our part, even with the short sample size; we set the innings up for the lower order to then go crazy.
The first batsmen to go out and score at 12, 13, and an over may give a false impression of the state of the conditions. If we attempt to continue at that pace for the remainder of the innings, believing that this is how it will be, we risk losing wickets.
Maxwell Praises Marsh’s Recent Performances
“Mitch has performed incredibly well in the past several years since returning to all three forms, particularly in the Test stuff, and I believe it has influenced the confidence in the other two formats as well. We anticipate seeing that because, as you see him go about his business, you always know he’s only one or two shots away from essentially wrecking a game.”
Maxwell stated that his own form resulted from a subpar IPL: “I’m still in a pretty good place. Although I’ve been striking the ball very effectively, I think it’s been difficult for me to get that rhythm and momentum.
You’ve witnessed our openers go out there and pump it all over the place, and it’s been challenging to adjust in the middle order.”
Stoinis has been exceptional throughout the competition; he is the only player who has consistently destroyed them.
Having those guys beneath me gives me a lot of confidence because I know I still have some time to qualify for the championship and that we have some really good players behind us.
Playing very well against England, I don’t feel like I’ve reached my full potential, which is a good situation to be in, but I know it’s not far away.
About the Author
Zartash Zulfiqar is a passionate cricket writer whose love for cricket shines through in every word. From match analyses to player profiles, she delivers insightful commentary that resonates with fans worldwide. Stay tuned for the latest from the world of cricket, brought to you by Zartash.
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