T20 World Cup 2024 Australia squad analysis: Steve Smith v Ashton Agar, could Pat Cummins lose spot?
Australia’s World Cup T20 squad is coming together – but several headaches remain, not least of all those surrounding veteran pair Steve Smith and Pat Cummins, writes Ben Horne.
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Steve Smith’s fading World Cup hopes have distracted from the fact fast bowling hero Pat Cummins could be fighting for his place in Australia’s best XI.
Australia defied the critics to win last year’s 50-over World Cup in India with only one specialist spinner, but funnily enough, that might be an even tougher feat to pull off in June’s Twenty20 edition played on slow and low pitches in the West Indies.
For this reason, left-arm spinner Ashton Agar is likely to come into Australia’s final 15 for the World Cup named in a couple of months’ time, a move which would spell bad news for Smith’s hopes of making the final cut, and could prove problematic even for the tour de force that is Cummins.
It seems unthinkable that Cummins – signed on a $3.67m IPL deal with the Sunrisers Hyderabad – could be left out of an Australian XI after his captaincy genius and bowling execution in the big moments of the ODI World Cup, but the one significant difference with the T20s is … he hasn’t been named captain.
With Mitchell Marsh set to be installed as skipper, it makes it much simpler for selectors to consider breaking up ‘the big three’ quicks in the West Indies should conditions demand playing two spinners.
Australia may ultimately stick with the formula that has netted them against-the-odds World Cup triumphs in the UAE (T20 in 2021) and in India (ODI in 2023) and back in the three-pronged Test match fast bowling trio come hell or high water.
But the presence of Agar and the fact Marsh looks set to be captain will certainly put the pressure on Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc to be firing from all cylinders.
Australia does not need to lodge their final 15-man squad until May 1, but it appears increasingly unlikely all-time great Smith will hold on and make the cut.
Not only does Australia have Agar in mind to come in, but all-rounder Cameron Green is also firmly in contention to force his way into the final 15, despite missing the three-match audition series in New Zealand.
Green has the chance to showcase what he can bring to the Australian squad during the upcoming Indian Premier League – a crucial opportunity Smith will not have unless he is called up to the world’s premier T20 competition as a late replacement.
Marcus Stoinis – one of Australia’s best at the past two T20 World Cups – was a late withdrawal from the New Zealand T20s with injury but he also will have the chance to present a case to the selectors during the IPL.
It’s possible Stoinis, Green and big-hitting BBL star Matt Short might be vying for two available places in the final 15.
That is if the multi-skilled Josh Inglis is locked into the 15 as back-up wicket-keeper to Matthew Wade and legitimate No.5 batting option.
Like Smith, Inglis and Short also don’t currently have IPL contracts where they could press their cases even further.
It would appear Australia will take four fast bowlers to the West Indies, Cummins, Hazlewood, Starc and Nathan Ellis – although it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that Spencer Johnson could force a change of thinking from the selectors if he rips up the IPL for Gujarat on his $1.78 million deal.
It cannot be overstated how important IPL performances could be on the make-up of the final squad given the quality of the Indian Premier League competition and the fact it will immediately precede the World Cup in the Windies.
Still, Smith is not without hope of making the final T20 World Cup squad.
Stoinis is already under an injury cloud and Marnus Labuschagne’s journey to being a hero in last year’s ODI World Cup proves that anything can happen in the lead-up to a big tournament and decisions aren’t made until late.
What Smith might lack in strike rate, he still brings in his pedigree as one of the world’s greatest batsmen and match-winners.
A T20 World Cup in the West Indies may be lower scoring and bring the heavy-duty qualities of Smith into play.
The problem he has is opening is realistically his only position in modern-day T20s and Australia is well serviced up front with David Warner and Travis Head entrenched, and the likes of Marsh, Green, Inglis and Short also credentialed enough to open if required.
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Originally published as T20 World Cup 2024 Australia squad analysis: Steve Smith v Ashton Agar, could Pat Cummins lose spot?
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