Andrew McDonald has defended the decision to rely on experienced international players over the IPL format, and believes it is Australia’s best option for the T20 World Cup.
Australia have placed their faith in their long-term players for next month’s Tournament, with Steve Smith one of the few experienced campaigners to be overlooked.
Jake Fraser-McGurk was the most notable absentee, despite breaking the IPL in recent weeks and his strike rate of 233.33 being the best of any top player.
These runs came as scoring percentages increased dramatically during the IPL, with eight team scores above 250 with the introduction of the Impact Player rule.
Matt Short also missed out on the Australian squad despite being the BBL MVP for a second time this summer and topping the list of points scorers with 541 with an average of 60.11.
Andrew McDonald has defended his World Cup squad for the T20 tournament
David Warner (left) has been chosen over IPL sensation Jake Fraser-McGurk (right)
Instead, David Warner retained his spot for his farewell tournament despite a sub-optimal IPL, with Fraser-McGurk taking his place as the veteran battles a finger injury.
“We feel that over the last four months, especially in the white ball area, we have given a lot of opportunities to other players,” McDonald said.
‘Have we gone back to the tried and tested in terms of World Cups and artists that we know can perform poorly on that stage? There’s no doubt about that.
‘These are players who have been there before and done it. And are still in good shape. Look at David Warner in the last 15 games for Australia. His record is excellent.’
In total there are three changes to the Australian squad from the home T20 World Cup in 2022, with Smith, Kane Richardson and the retired Aaron Finch taking the place of Josh Inglis, Nathan Ellis and Travis Head.
Australia’s three frontline Test quicks were also all selected, despite suspicions surrounding their combination in T20 cricket during the last short World Cup.
But McDonald pointed to Australia’s recent record as to why selectors had gone with experience and won 12 of their last 17 T20s.
“Look at David Warner’s performance against the West Indies (last summer) and other players through our international build-up… we performed really well,” he said.
Veteran superstar Steve Smith has also missed out on a place at the tournament
‘We have a good connection within that team. And I think that goes a long way.
‘These players have played together a lot. They are experienced. And we feel that whatever problem arises in that tournament, we can solve it.
‘The proof will be in the way we go through the tournament. In retrospect, we will be criticized after the tournament, there is no doubt about that.’
McDonald’s comments came as Fraser-McGurk admitted he had not yet earned the right to play in a World Cup, and that Australia were right to keep Warner, Head and Mitch Marsh in their top three.
“It didn’t really bother me because I wasn’t in a position to… feel like I’ve earned that yet,” Fraser-McGurk told the Willow Talk podcast.
“World Cup cricket is very different from IPL and franchise cricket.”
