Andrew McDonald

T20 World Cup 2024: Australia captain Mitchell Marsh not ready to bowl yet, says coach

Danijones7 months ago04 mins

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 âæ it won’t be the first game.” What McDonald said about West Indies 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 âæ 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.” Australia will open their campaign against Oman on June 5 and then face England three days later. Published On: May 31, 2024

Australia coach Andrew McDonald backs captain Mitchell Marsh to be fit ahead of T20 World Cup

Danijones8 months ago04 mins

Australia coach Andrew McDonald has backed captain Mitchell Marsh to be back to full fitness before the start of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. Marsh was pulled out of the IPL early last month due to a hamstring rupture, and his recovery has been far slower than planned since returning from India. Marsh joined a cohort of Australia’s squad members, not engaged in the IPL, for the initial three-day pre-tournament training camp in Brisbane. Another such camp is scheduled over the next two weeks before the squad leaves for the Caribbean on May 25th. Initially, Marsh wasn’t slated to attend the first camp due to his hamstring injury. However, his recovery allowed him to participate and bat in the nets over the last couple of days. Nonetheless, McDonald reiterated that Marsh’s bowling fitness would only be nearing completion closer to the tournament. “You probably won’t see him bowl in the next couple of weeks here,” McDonald told reporters at Allan Border Field on Tuesday. “It’ll probably happen the week before we leave. And then he’ll be able to ramp that up when we’re over there. We’ll be able to cherry-pick the moments during the tournament where he’ll be useful with the ball. We’ve got some all-round depth in the squad, which gives us good coverage anyway. “[His recovery was] probably a little slower than expected on the back of the hamstring. But we’ve got plenty of time now that he has been ruled out the IPL. The first game is just short of a month away now. So ample time for him to get ready. But really positive to see the skipper on the park.” McDonald said there was no concern about Marsh’s lack of match practice over the last two months, given that Australia will play some practice games before their debut match against Oman. “No real concern about match fitness,” McDonald said. “We’ve got a couple of practice games when we get to Trinidad in the support period. So he’ll likely get plenty of match opportunities. And if not, we’ll be able to simulate those through practice, which our coaching staff are pretty good at.” Published By: Saurabh Kumar Published On: May 7, 2024