"Pat Cummins, his evolution as a T20 player...": Australia coach McDonald ahead of Namibia clash

North Sound [Antigua and Barbuda], June 11 : Ahead of his side's ICC T20 World Cup against Namibia, Australia head coach Andrew McDonald said that bowling is the strength of their team. He lauded Pat Cummins, spinner Adam Zampa and all-rounder Marcus Stoinis for their impressive bowling performance against England.
Australia will take on Namibia in their ICC T20 World Cup Group B match. Australia is at number two with two wins in two matches and Namibia is at number three with a win and loss, giving them two points.
Speaking about the efficiency of their bowlers in middle overs against England, McDonald said in the pre-match press conference, "I think over time our bowling has been a strength. I think the way they operate together, they know each other's games, they are really clear on the planning going in and I think we were well-planned for that game. You always get the benefit when you bowl second to see what the conditions are like for the team that bowls first.
"So, our problem last game was assessing the conditions as a batting unit. England was assessing it as a bowling unit. So, we got a look at the wicket. We were able to then identify the key parts that would work. We felt as though we had a good understanding of the conditions and yes, a lot of it was just reinforcing during our batting innings what we are going to do and I thought Josh Hazelwood bowling a difficult end always stands up," he continued.
"Pat Cummins, his evolution as a T20 player, the more games that he plays is really impressive and Adam Zampa, arguably one of our best white-ball bowlers ever across ODI cricket and T20 cricket. Shows up when we need him to with key breakthroughs, so impressive. So yeah, we feel as though we have got options, which is the nice thing. And Marcus Stoinis, I thought was very impressive, that sixth over in particular to shut out the power play under huge pressure - I think that was a big over in the game and also the 11-20 got the wicket so yeah, he is really important to the way we balance our bowling," he concluded his point.
Speaking on the possibility of playing other players in the next two games and giving everyone in the squad some game time before the Super Eight Stage, McDonald said, "The team first needs to confirm its qualification to Super Eights with a win against Namibia and will think about playing other players of the squad only after that."
McDonald said that the team had the luxury of playing a practice against Namibia, which has given them a nice look into the team.
On playing at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium at North Sound, McDonald said that they became aware of the ground while watching the game between Oman and Scotland which was held on Sunday night at the same venue.
"We are playing on the same surface. A clearly a strong breeze as well to contend with so there are going to be a lot of defensive options from certain ends in terms of the way we want to stack up our bowling and equally on the batting front there we can use that wind and we saw that was a big factor in yesterday's game and I think it will be a big factor across the tournament. A lot of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) players talk about the wind and how much of a bearing that has on games and I think that is real. So yeah, we expect that surface to be pretty good looking at it," he added.
McDonald said that the team has planned to tackle a travel-heavy, hectic schedule in case they reach the final.
"And yeah, clearly there is a great challenge there for teams to navigate through the Super Eights and game - travel - game - travel - game. So, it is going to be difficult how you manage your resources and make sure they are ready to perform with short turnarounds. There is a bit of an art to that. So, it may not necessarily be a locked eleven through that period for teams," he added.
The coach also said that the team is not focusing on England staying or getting knocked out of the tournament.
"We have not got the option of talking about that at the moment. Namibia, first and foremost. England have got their work to do in the next couple of games," he added.
Squads:
Australia Squad: Travis Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh(c), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade(w), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood, Ashton Agar, Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis
Namibia Squad: JP Kotze, Nikolaas Davin, Jan Frylinck, Gerhard Erasmus(c), Malan Kruger, Zane Green(w), David Wiese, Ruben Trumpelmann, JJ Smit, Bernard Scholtz, Tangeni Lungameni, Michael van Lingen, Ben Shikongo, Dylan Leicher, Peter-Daniel Blignaut, Jack Brassell.