Australia coach Andrew McDonald has defended the squad he selected for the Twenty20 World Cup, saying the players were capable of progressing, but Australia now face the prospect of a rebuild ahead of co-hosting the next edition with New Zealand in 2028.The 2021 champions entered the tournament in India and Sri Lanka as contenders but were eliminated in the group stage for the first time since 2009. The early exit has drawn criticism from former players and sections of the media.Fast-bowling great Glenn McGrath pointed to the absence of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc as a key weakness.
“We said at the start of this World Cup that we were concerned about Australia,” pace great Glenn McGrath told reporters, pointing to the absence of fast bowlers Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc as exposing a soft underbelly.“All of a sudden, the aura of that Australian team is no longer there when other teams play it … unfortunately, not surprising.”Concerns had already surfaced in the lead-up when Australia lost all three matches against Pakistan by 22, 90 and 111 runs — the last two being their biggest defeats by runs in T20 internationals. At the time, captain Mitchell Marsh said: “Absolutely no stress from our end.” The mood later shifted to “It’s a devastated group” after defeats to Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.Selectors George Bailey, McDonald and Tony Dodemaide were criticised for backing out-of-form all-rounders Cameron Green and Cooper Connolly, for not picking Steve Smith, and for dropping Matt Renshaw for the Sri Lanka match while still in contention.Former selector Mark Waugh also questioned the choices.“Look at the selections, look at (Glenn) Maxwell, Connolly, Green and (Josh) Inglis, these guys are all out of form,” lamented Mark Waugh, himself a former selector.“The selectors have their plans in place, but you’ve got to be smart enough to see which players are in form and which players are out of form.“And you’ve got to play the percentages a lot better than what our selectors have played.”McDonald rejected outside criticism, saying: “There was always going to be differing opinions from the outside,” adding that outsiders “don’t understand what the moving parts are and the conversations are on the inside”.A review of the campaign will begin after the team returns home. Only three members of the current squad — Green, Connolly and fast bowler Xavier Bartlett — will be under 30 by the next World Cup. The futures of senior players such as Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Hazlewood and Cummins remain unclear, while Starc has already retired from T20 internationals.
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