As Australia begin their defence of the ICC T20 World Cup title with the opening Super 12 game against New Zealand at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCGG) on October 22, Healy has expressed concern about the reigning world champions losing four of their last seven T20Is, with one being a washout. After losing the away T20I series to India, Australia also lost the home T20I series to England 2-0 with the third and final match being abandoned due to rain.
Healy felt a string of losses is not ideal for the confidence of the side and raised questions about the make-up of the XI.
“They (Australia) haven’t got themselves into any sort of form or confidence,” Healy said on SENQ’s Pat and Heals. “(Glenn) Maxwell and (Aaron) Finch are the two biggest worries for me. Steve Smith doesn’t seem to have a spot in the XI, but I want Steve Smith in there in case we fall to 3/30 at some stage and he goes in,” said Healy.
While on the one hand Healy felt Smith could drop anchor if Australia lose early wickets, he also conceded the selectors will have a tough time fitting the batter in the XI, given the specialised roles of players holding positions three to seven.
“There’s plenty of days he (Smith) won’t bat, but who do we take out? We’ve put in Tim David and Steve Smith can’t find a spot, so Maxwell is the worry with the bat, but we need a second spinner with (Adam) Zampa so Smith doesn’t come in there.
“Mitch Marsh is not bowling; can we afford to have Mitch Marsh and Marcus Stoinis both in there? Both of them won us the last World Cup. So, they’ve got a lot of unanswered things going on, hopefully, it clicks for them,” said Healy.
Healy, though, said that prior to the T20 World Cup in the UAE last year, Australia had a similar unsettled look but they went on to win the title.
“They were pretty ordinarily regarded in the lead-up to the last World Cup,” he added. “(David) Warner was out of form and Finch couldn’t get going, but Warner clicked, Maxwell was good and Stonis, Marsh and (Matthew) Wade did such great work to get us over the line a lot,” added Healy.
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