Australia skipper Pat Cummins revealed that a fit-again Marcus Stoinis was available for selection and that the team was looking at him ‘pretty closely’ ahead of its World Cup match against South Africa at the Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Thursday.
“He’s fit. We’ll announce a team tomorrow but it’s a ground he knows pretty well. I think chatting to him and a couple of other guys, it’s probably in a bit of a different condition to what it is for IPL (Indian Premier League). The wicket looks really good so yeah, he’s someone we’ll look at pretty closely,” Cummins said.
Stoinis plays for IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants and could have a feel for the conditions at the venue, which have been challenging for batters but could change after the pitch underwent renovation.
Marcus Stoinis (right) in action for Lucknow Super Giants against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. | Photo Credit: The Hindu / KVS Giri
Australia is coming off a six-wicket defeat against India in Chennai in its campaign opener and Cummins said both the batting and bowling units will need to step up in the middle-overs.
While the Aussies lost six wickets for 113 runs between overs 11 and 40, the spinners were ineffective and allowed Virat Kohli and KL Rahul to take the game away.
Cummins termed the rivalry against South Africa as “a clash of two very similar teams” because of the quality of pacers and batters who “take the game on”.
Australia is carrying opener Travis Head, who fractured his hand ahead of the tournament, and Cummins said that the left-hander was set to undergo scans on Thursday and that an update on his availability could be expected in a couple of days.
ODI ‘quite tiring’: De Kock
South Africa’s Quinton de Kock, who announced in September his decision to retire from ODIs after the World Cup, said that he felt the format was “quite tiring” for the last couple of years.
“I’m sure a lot of guys love the format. I’m not going to speak on behalf of everyone. For myself, it’s been doing it for a couple of years now, so I find it quite tiring,” he said on the eve of South Africa’s match against Australia in Lucknow.
South Africa’s Quinton De Kock celebrates after scoring a hundred during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 match between South Africa and Sri Lanka at Arun Jaitley Stadium. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
At a time when the one-day format finds itself at a crossroads, de Kock believes ODIs will need to find a suitable place and time to continue being relevant.
The opener began his ODI swansong in style, smashing his maiden World Cup hundred against Sri Lanka in Delhi last week in what was his 18th appearance at the showpiece.
“I think I’ve been wanting a 100 for a while. Just for my personal self, I think it’s been a while. I’ve got to be getting off to a lot of starts and then obviously not capitalising and just to get one to my name was pretty nice,” de Kock said.
Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram also got hundreds as South Africa piled up the highest total in World Cup history, and de Kock said that starting the campaign in such an emphatic fashion was a huge boost for their confidence but also added that they would need to be a bit more consistent.
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