Colombo, Feb 10 (IANS) Australia skipper Mitchell Marsh confirmed that Nathan Ellis will be available for selection in their T20 World Cup opener against Ireland on Wednesday, with the fast bowler ticking off his return from a hamstring issue in time for the match, but stated that Tim David will not be rushed back, with the powerful middle-order batter set to miss the clash as he continues to manage his own hamstring recovery.

The Australians are opting for a conservative approach despite David’s strong progress in training. The 29-year-old has not featured in a match since injuring himself on Boxing Day while batting for the Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash, but since linking up with the national squad in Sri Lanka last week, his workload has steadily increased.

David has taken part in every batting session in Colombo bar Wednesday’s optional practice, and has also completed multiple running and fielding drills, including full-intensity sprints between the wickets in match gear on Tuesday.

With Australia scheduled to play Ireland on Wednesday at the R. Premadasa Stadium and Zimbabwe at the same venue just two days later on Friday, Marsh indicated that David could come into the calculations later in the tournament. “We’ll certainly see him come back into contention over the next few games,” Marsh said of David during his pre-match press conference.

David’s unavailability opens up an opportunity for Matthew Renshaw, who could debut in the World Cup. The left-handed batter was only included in the T20 World Cup squad 10 days prior, after all-rounder Matt Short was dropped. Since making his international debut against Pakistan last month, he now stands as a strong candidate to secure his spot.

Ellis is set to lead an Australian pace attack that lacks its typical star players. For the first time since 2011, the men’s team will compete in a T20 World Cup without Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, or Pat Cummins. Hazlewood (Achilles) and Cummins (back) are both injured and unable to participate, while Starc has retired from T20 internationals.

Left-arm spinners Matthew Kuhnemann and Cooper Connolly, along with quicks Xavier Bartlett and Ben Dwarshuis (who was drafted as Cummins’ replacement), are competing for the remaining bowling spots. They are vying to join Adam Zampa and Ellis in the attack.

“Over the past 12 months, guys like Benny Dwarshuis and Xavier Bartlett have played pretty much all our games, so we’ve got great confidence that they’ll be able to do a role for us. We’ve built out a squad of maybe 18 to 20 people that have played over the past 12 months, and we’ve got game time to all of them,” Marsh said.

Australia are the final team among the 20 tournament entrants to begin their World Cup campaign, a schedule quirk that has allowed them to observe Ireland in action ahead of Wednesday’s fixture. The sides have met only once in the last decade.

“They’ve all faced different situations in matches, and while some of them haven’t played a lot for Australia, they’ve played a lot of cricket, and we’ve got great confidence… in the group that we’ve got here.

“We’ve been focusing on our own preparation, and it’s been nice have a longer lead in. Certain players weren’t in Pakistan (for the series prior to the World Cup), so (it’s been) getting the group together for a week. Now it’s here, we’re on the eve of the World Cup for us, and we’re looking forward to it,” Marsh stated.

–IANS

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