Australia capped off a perfect tour of the West Indies with a 5-0 whitewash in the T20s, winning the series finale by three wickets.
Despite some nervy moments throughout Tuesday’s run chase in St Kitts, the tourists successfully reeled in the 171-run target with three overs to spare.
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Australia has now won 13 of their 14 most recent men’s T20Is, a reassuring trend ahead of the T20 World Cup in the subcontinent, which gets under in about six months.
Attention turns swiftly towards the white-ball series against South Africa in northern Australia, which commences next weekend.
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ELLIS HEAPING PRESSURE ON AUSSIE ‘BIG THREE’
Although he didn’t finish high on the wicket-taking tally, Nathan Ellis was still Australia’s best bowler of the T20 campaign in the Caribbean.
In a high-scoring series where the overall run rate was 10.23, the Tasmanian quick conceded just 7.88 per over – and that’s despite often bowling at the death. Leading Australia’s pace attack in the absence of the ‘big three’, he was instrumental to the tourists sealing a 5-0 series triumph.
With an assortment of slower-ball bouncers and rapid yorkers at his disposal, Ellis has quickly developed into one of the country’s best T20 cricketers. No Australian has taken more wickets in men’s T20Is at a lower average than the Hobart Hurricanes captain.
Ellis’ heroics in canary yellow has prompted speculation on whether he’s in Australia’s strongest starting XI, even when Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood are available for selection.
Starc was dropped during last year’s T20 World Cup campaign in a conditions-based selection, while Cummins has only played seven T20Is across the last three years.
“It’s an interesting conversation,” former Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin responded when asked about the best starting XI for next year’s T20 World Cup.
“In the conditions in the subcontinent, a bowler like Nathan Ellis might be pushing one of those big three bowlers (out of the starting XI).
“He gives you something different, he’s got change-ups, he bowls all the tough overs.
“He’s at the stage now where he can put pressure on one of those three bowlers for a position.”
ZAMPA’S FEATS IN SAME REALM AS WARNE
On Tuesday, Adam Zampa became the first Australian bowler to play 100 men’s T20Is, a significant milestone for the veteran leg-spinner.
The New South Welshman, who has perhaps been underappreciated in the national white-ball set-up, is a two-time World Cup champion with 311 international wickets to his name.
He finished the T20 series against the West Indies as the equal-leading wicket-taker with eight scalps at 23.00, including three-wicket hauls in Kingston and Basseterre.
Haddin declared that Zampa deserved the same recognition for his white-ball achievements as the likes of fellow Australian tweakers Shane Warne and Brad Hogg.
“I don’t think there’s a more influential player in this Australian team than Adam Zampa,” Haddin said.
“This man is the most important bowler in the Australian cricket team.
“Under pressure, the ball goes to him, he can bowl in all three phases of the game.
“The one thing I like over the last couple of years is he’s demanding the ball.
“He can now put his name up with some of our great bowlers … Shane Warne, Brad Hogg, he’s right up there. He’s right up there with the best we’ve seen in white-ball cricket.”
In actuality, Zampa’s numbers in white-ball internationals (311 wickets at 25.61) surpass that of Warne, who claimed 293 ODI scalps at 25.73.
If Zampa leads Australia towards another World Cup title, either in the subcontinent next year or in South Africa in 2027, he’ll have bragging rights over Warne in the game’s shorter formats.
Asked whether he’ll play another 100 T20Is, Zampa quipped with a smile: “Definitely not.”
MAXWELL KEEPING AUSSIE SUPERSTAR’S SEAT WARM
Having only opened the batting once for Australia over the previous nine years, Glenn Maxwell was thrown up the order for four T20s in the Caribbean — with mixed results.
Dismissed within the first three overs during run chases in Kingston and Basseterre, the Victorian was named player of the match after slapping an 18-ball 47 against the West Indies on Saturday.
With a hard ball and fielding restrictions in place, every batter relishes the chance to open the batting in white-ball cricket; Maxwell averages 49.66 as a T20I opener, but that figure slips to 27.90 in the middle order.
However, the 36-year-old is adamant the opening spot belongs to someone else, declaring that he was simply keeping the seat warm for Travis Head until his return.
Asked if he could see himself returning to the top of the order in future series, Maxwell responded: “Probably not.
“It is certainly good fun being up the top; we always talk about how exciting it is to get up the top and have a bit of fun in the Powerplay.
“I think the way we’re probably going to set up our T20 side heading forward is you’ve got Travis up the top, you’ve got Mitch Marsh who is captaining us brilliantly at the moment.”
Maxwell, who retired from ODIs earlier this year, will be 37 when next year’s T20 World Cup rolls around, but considering his acrobatic feats in the field and ongoing contributions with the ball, he remains a crucial member of the team.
However, his return to the middle-order could create a selection squeeze, with the likes of Cameron Green, Mitchell Owen and Aaron Hardie potentially fighting for spots in the starting XI.
“There’s about five players in our team who could bat at No. 4,” Green confessed during Tuesday’s post-match press conference.
ALL-ROUNDERS PUT STOINIS’ AUSSIE FUTURE IN DOUBT
Marcus Stoinis has been one of Australia’s most consistent T20 performers over the last five years, but the all-rounder may have already played his last match for his country.
The 35-year-old, who retired from ODIs in February, missed selection for the West Indies tour, with national selectors preferring the services of Cameron Green and Mitchell Owen.
Both all-rounders pressed their case for selection in next year’s T20 World Cup by producing a handful of match-winning performances in the Caribbean — Green was named player of the series after clobbering 205 runs at 68.33 including three fifties, while Owen smacked 125 runs at 41.66, headlined by a half-century on international debut.
Since the start of 2022, no seam bowler has taken more wickets for Australia in men’s T20Is than Stoinis, while he has contributed 789 runs at 34.30 with a strike rate of 158.11 during that period. However, the West Australian struggled during this year’s Indian Premier League and the recent Major League Cricket campaign.
With Green and Owen seemingly at the peak of their powers, there may no longer be a place for Stoinis in the national squad moving forward — especially when Green’s available to bowl again.
“Hopefully I’m only a couple of months away (from bowling again),” Green said.
“About half of the team are all-rounders, so that’s the beauty of what we’re trying to build here, a lot of depth.”
SKIPPER MARSH THE LONE BATTING CONCERN
Ahead of the T20 series, Australian captain Mitchell Marsh confirmed he was no longer an all-rounder, committing himself as a specialist batter in the national white-ball teams moving forward.
However, the West Australian struggled in his new role in the Caribbean.
In a high-scoring series, Marsh contributed 81 runs at 16.20 with a strike rate of 128.57, failing to reach 25 in five knocks. He didn’t survive beyond the Powerplay in any of the five matches.
Marsh remains a leader within the Australian set-up, and his spot in the national T20 side isn’t in any immediate danger.
But with a T20 World Cup on the horizon, national selectors would be desperate to see the Bison rediscover his mojo in the game’s shortest format.
