Marcus Stoinis banking on Big Bash form to propel him back into Aussie calculations
Marcus Stoinis has wondered whether he should have played through injury during a failed World Cup campaign that left him cut from the Aussie squad. With no regrets, he hopes Big Bash form will make him irresistible to selectors.
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Marcus Stoinis has no regrets over his brave but ultimately unsuccessful decision to play through pain during a turbulent ODI World Cup campaign that left him out of favour with the selectors.
Stoinis overcame three side strains as he refused to rule himself out of the tournament in England where he averaged only 13.8 runs at a strike-rate of 74.8.
The all-rounder was widely tipped as a key weapon who could deliver Australia yet another 50-over trophy.
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But Stoinis broke down in Australia’s third group match and then again in the final group match, which left him requiring scans on both of his sides.
The Aussies flew in Mitchell Marsh who was on standby but Stoinis miraculously proved his fitness for the semi-final.
However he was trapped by Adil Rashid for as second-ball duck and bowled just two overs – brought into the attack after Steve Smith – as England thrashed Australia by eight wickets.
“It’s probably one I’ve thought about, whether I should’ve pulled myself out or tried to play,” Stoinis said yesterday.
“But at the end of the day you’re playing at a World Cup and I would’ve run through a wall to keep going.
“It might not have helped me in the long run, but I wouldn’t change anything.”
Selectors called Stoinis in October to break the news that he had been axed from Australia’s T20 squad just 12 months out from a World Cup.
“They went with a different balance. They didn’t play a seam-bowling all-rounder and they wanted me to go back to state cricket and make some runs and perform,” Stoinis said.
Stoinis smacked 24 runs from just eight balls when he and Nic Maddinson opened the batting in yesterday’s Stars-Renegades practice match at Junction Oval.
But Stoinis’s best chance of cracking Australia’s T20 team appears to be as a middle-order batsmen, given Aaron Finch and David Warner have the opening positions locked away.
“I’ve batted one, two, three, four, five, six, I’ve bowled powerplay, I’ve bowled death, I’ve bowled middle,” Stoinis said.
“I’ve fielded in slips, I’ve fielded on the boundary, I’ve fielded at cover. Something I pride myself on is being adaptable.”
Stoinis said Maddinson was “arguably the best player in Shield cricket not playing for Australia” and the Stars hold high hopes for their top-order batsman this Big Bash season.
Stoinis played alongside Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in this year’s Indian Premier League and has again entered the player draft for 2020, which takes place on Thursday.
YOUNG ‘GADES GO BERSERK
Aaron Finch calls it “the ignorance of youth” and yesterday that mantra sank Melbourne Stars as kids Sam Harper and Will Sutherland went berserk with the bat in practice matches at Junction Oval.
Harper, 23, (101 off 49) and Sutherland, 20, (69 off 34) left the green team’s bowlers with sore necks as they smashed several sixes in a pair of promising victories on the cusp of the Big Bash season.
“You give guys some freedom and the backing that forget the result, stick by your process and everything will be OK,” Finch said.
“That is the ignorance of youth at times, which is brilliant. They come in with no baggage, no scars, they’ve only got huge amounts to gain out of it.
:As opposed to some guys who might battle for runs or trying to just keep getting picked game to game.”
Harper ramped the second ball of the innings for six as he and Finch blasted 18 runs off Daniel Worrall with boom recruit Shaun Marsh (72 not-out off 41) surprisingly entering at No.3.
Harper then carted four of his seven sixes off one over from legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane.
“Sam Harper’s going to have a fantastic tournament. I think he will be one that comes on in leaps and bounds. I suspect he will do better than he did last year,” Renegades matchwinner Dan Christian said yesterday.
Marcus Harris didn’t even get a bat as Renegades posted 2-236 in the first match, prevailing by 81 runs.
Sutherland removed Stars captain Glenn Maxwell (30 off 16) while fellow all-rounder Jack Wildermuth jagged 3-31 as the Stars were dismissed for 155.
In the second match Stars set the Renegades 157 for victory and then had the red team reeling at 5-25 and, like last season’s grand final, were seemingly on the way to a certain victory.
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But Sutherland’s whirlwind knock, combined with some lusty hitting from Cameron Boyce (36 off 23), ensured the Renegades got out of jail as they won by three wickets with seven balls to spare.
“Adding the class of Shaun Marsh is a huge bonus for us,” Finch said.
“We’ve been trying to get him away from the west for about 10 years – since BBL02 – and we’ve finally got him.”
The red team seems certain to roll out a top three of Finch, Harper and Marsh when their championship defence begins against Sydney Thunder in Geelong on Thursday night.
All-rounder Dan Christian said late signing Richard Gleeson, who he has faced in England, bowled with serious heat.
Stars are bullish about how sharp they will be in the field this season after adding jets Nathan Coulter-Nile and Hilton Cartwright, with rocket-arms Marcus Stoinis and Maxwell already roaming the outfields.
Stoinis said Cartwright was the best fielder in Australia and would save the green team 20 runs per game with his athleticism.
“Times have changed, there’s no Beery (Michael Beer) on the boundary anymore,” Stoinis said yesterday.
Originally published as Marcus Stoinis banking on Big Bash form to propel him back into Aussie calculations