Steve Smith, the dashing right handed batter can be seen opening the batting for Australia in Tests as well as T20Is. Steve Smith has had a topsy-turvy run with the bat in hand but we should not forget that he is someone who can take the team out of the tricky situation. The management would be considering using Smith as a secret weapon as the conditions in Caribbean-USA would be quite unpredictable.
Head coach Andrew McDonald and chief selector George Bailey will be aware of the fact that they cannot go overboard. We witnessed how badly they lost against New Zealand in ICC T20 WC 2022 which was one of the main reasons that they couldn’t qualify for the Semi Finals despite having a stellar team.
You love having guys like Steve Smith around the team- Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting was seen having an interaction with ‘ICC Review’. Ricky Ponting pointed out that Smith has the calming influence around the team especially in the tournament like T20 WC. Ricky Ponting stated that Steve Smith opened the batting for Australia in the recently concluded New Zealand T20I series in which the management & board tried couple of combinations.
“You love having guys like him around because of the experience and the calming influence that you can have around a team during a World Cup. I think he opened the batting in a couple of those games (against New Zealand), but not all of those games and they’re sort of spreading the load around a little bit trying to find their right combination, but would I have him in the squad? I think I’d have him in the squad, but he wouldn’t be in my starting XI,” said Ricky Ponting.
Australia, a team to beat
According to multiple reports and sources, it is strongly believed that Mitchell Marsh will lead the side for the marquee T20 WC 2024. Mitchell Marsh has been around the team since the last decade or so as his experience would be invaluable for the team. Mitchell Marsh is someone who can also open the batting if needed for the team.
Aussies have a very strong camaraderie amongst the players as the likes of Pat Cummins, David Warner & Steve Smith will be too indirectly a part of the leadership group. We witnessed how Australia won the marquee ODI WC 2023 against all odds as for every particular match, their all-rounders step in; the format may be different but Aussies would be roaring to make a statement that they are not done yet.