NEW DELHI: Australian white-ball skipper Mitchell Marsh has ended the guessing game over his batting position, confirming he will open the innings alongside Travis Head in T20Is “for the foreseeable future” as the team builds towards next year's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
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Australia have trialled several opening combinations since David Warner's retirement, including Matt Short, Glenn Maxwell and Jake Fraser-McGurk. But Marsh believes consistency at the top is key.
“It'll be myself and Heady up the top for the foreseeable future,” he said ahead of the three-match T20 series against South Africa starting Sunday in Darwin. “Obviously we've played a lot together, got a great relationship, so (we'll) start there.”
The series comes on the back of Australia's 5-0 sweep over the West Indies, where the middle and lower order thrived. Tim David stole headlines with a blistering 37-ball century — the fastest by an Australian — prompting discussions about moving him higher in the order.
“We've spoken about it … we saw that in the Caribbean, that he came in earlier than he would normally,” Marsh said. “The more balls he faces, hopefully the more games he wins us.”
Sunday's clash will be the first international in Australia's tropical north in 17 years and is already a sell-out. South Africa, led by returning skipper Aiden Markram , bring a youthful squad spearheaded by Kagiso Rabada and featuring four spinners — Prenelan Subrayen, George Linde, Senuran Muthusamy and Nqaba Peter.
Proteas coach Shukri Conrad expects a stern test. “Touring Australia is never easy. We know their conditions and intensity will test us in every department, and that's exactly the kind of challenge we're after,” he said.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel.
Australia have trialled several opening combinations since David Warner's retirement, including Matt Short, Glenn Maxwell and Jake Fraser-McGurk. But Marsh believes consistency at the top is key.
“It'll be myself and Heady up the top for the foreseeable future,” he said ahead of the three-match T20 series against South Africa starting Sunday in Darwin. “Obviously we've played a lot together, got a great relationship, so (we'll) start there.”
The series comes on the back of Australia's 5-0 sweep over the West Indies, where the middle and lower order thrived. Tim David stole headlines with a blistering 37-ball century — the fastest by an Australian — prompting discussions about moving him higher in the order.
“We've spoken about it … we saw that in the Caribbean, that he came in earlier than he would normally,” Marsh said. “The more balls he faces, hopefully the more games he wins us.”
Sunday's clash will be the first international in Australia's tropical north in 17 years and is already a sell-out. South Africa, led by returning skipper Aiden Markram , bring a youthful squad spearheaded by Kagiso Rabada and featuring four spinners — Prenelan Subrayen, George Linde, Senuran Muthusamy and Nqaba Peter.
Proteas coach Shukri Conrad expects a stern test. “Touring Australia is never easy. We know their conditions and intensity will test us in every department, and that's exactly the kind of challenge we're after,” he said.
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