Marsh Barbados: Australia head coach Andrew McDonald said on Friday that captain Mitchell Marsh will not bowl in the first match of the T20 World Cup against Oman on June 6 and will play only as a batsman.
Marsh, who suffered a hamstring injury during the IPL, played both the practice matches against Namibia and West Indies, scoring 18 and four runs respectively.
“He played practice matches to test himself. In the second practice match, he fielded for a longer period which must have boosted his confidence. He will play the first match but will not bowl,” McDonald told cricket.com.au.
Australia’s Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Cameron Green and Travis Head did not play in the second practice match against West Indies as they are yet to arrive here after the IPL.
McDonald said, “We knew that the whole team would not be able to assemble before June 1. There is a lot of time between the match against Oman and the match against England. All these players have played a lot together and it will not take them much time to get into the rhythm.” Australia is scheduled to play against England on June 9.