Skipper Steve Smith (pic) said yesterday that Australia were determined to break their World T20 hoodoo, saying his team’s vast experience of playing in the Indian Premier League would give them a definite edge.
Five-time World Cup champions Australia have been under-performers in the shortest format and their best showing in the tournament has been the runners-up finish in 2010 when they lost the final to England.
“Traditionally we haven’t done as well as we would have liked in this format of the game.
“This is a tournament that has eluded us so we are here to try and win it,” Smith told reporters in Kolkata at Australia’s opening press conference of the 16-team tournament. “We feel pretty settled, we have 15 guys who can give this tournament a pretty good shake,” he added.
Smith, who leads the team in all the three formats, said they will be banking on their all-rounders who have recently performed well.
He said inclusion of debutant leg-spinner Adam Zampa in the squad will boost the team’s bowling department on slow Indian tracks.
The 26-year-old skipper said his team will adapt to the conditions quickly and will fully utilise the Indian experience to win the cup.
“We know what to expect from the conditions over here, a lot of us have played here before, either in IPL or against India so we know what to expect and we’re ready for the challenge,” the skipper said.
Smith and five of his teammates in the World T20 squad are part of the various IPL franchises and their familiarity with Indian pitches will auger well for them.
Coming into the sixth edition of the tournament at the back of a 2-1 T20 series win against South Africa, the fifth-ranked side will play New Zealand in their opener on Friday.
Australia will play favourites India on March 27 and Smith insisted that there is no added pressure on the side that recently lost the T20 series 0-3 against the MS Dhoni-led side.
“I don’t think there is any pressure. I think playing a World Cup...playing in international cricket, there is always lots of pressure. So for us it’s taking each game at a time,” he said.
Meanwhile, Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh, while acknowledging that the hosts are a great side, said that they would be under pressure in a tournament where any team can beat the other on their day.
"Certainly we have to go past India, they are playing well, they know the conditions well, won the 50-over World Cup here a few years ago, so there is going to be a lot of pressure on them and they are a great side.
"But at the end of the day it's a game of 20-20 and is a matter of who turns up on the day and anyone can beat anyone, that's the nature of the tournament," the 24-year-old Marsh said.
Marsh, who has turned out for Deccan Chargers and Pune Warriors in the IPL, said his team was high on confidence about doing well as several players in the dressing room have rich experience about the Indian conditions.
"There are some players in the dressing room who have the experience of playing in India.
"Several of them have had individual successes in India at some point of time. We are high on confidence of doing well in India, where the conditions can be challenging," Marsh said.
He said international cricket also instils an ability to adapt to all conditions. "In the last two years, being in international set-up I have learnt to adapt to all kind of situations. When you play so much of cricket all around the world, you learn to adapt."
The Western Australia player has been a regular for his country over the past year and says he was looking forward to the Indian challenges.
He was also all praise for India's young pacer Jasprit Bumrah. "He is a very good bowler. I saw him two years ago. He bowls with a good change of pace."
Asked about his role as a finisher in the T20 format, Marsh said: "I try to hit as many balls as I can. It's about being flexible. You can't get 30 off ten balls every match. I try and keep it simple. I have prepared for the flat kind of wickets we will encounter here."
Marsh comes from a family of sportspersons. While his father Geoff Marsh played 50 Test matches and 117 ODIs for Australia, brother Shaun Marsh is also an international batsman, while his sister Melissa is a basketball player.
To a poser as to how much of cricket is discussed at home on the dinner table, Marsh replied: "Probably the first 10 minutes and then we go back to more family issues."
Marsh also spelt out how he benefits from his father's advice.
"Yes certainly, I am very lucky to have a father who played 50 Tests and 117 ODIs, obviously his experience is vast, but at the same time he is my father, so be it cricket or life , I go to him for advice. I am lucky to have him."
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