T20 World Cup 2022: “Bits and pieces here and there” – Glenn Maxwell laments Australia’s elimination from the tournament
Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell felt gutted after the defending champions were eliminated from the T20 World Cup 2022. He felt both batters and bowlers failed to put on a show on their home soil.
Aaron Finch and Co. fell short of qualification for the semi-finals due to their Net Run Rate (NRR), despite having equal points with table-toppers New Zealand and second-placed England in Group 2.
The English team defeated Sri Lanka by four wickets in a last-over thriller on Saturday to end Australia’s hopes of entering the semis of the showpiece T20 tournament on their home turf.
The hosting team have only made it past the second round twice in eight editions of the men's #T20WorldCup 😱 https://t.co/9L715e0XsG
Speaking to T20 World Cup's official site, Maxwell said:
“We’ve probably missed a few opportunities this year. A couple of batters have got starts but haven’t gone big.”
The dashing batsman added:
“I don’t think we’ve got any batters in the top five or six or 10 run scorers. We haven’t probably got the higher wicket-takers either. It feels like we’ve just been chipping away, bits and pieces here and there.”
It is worth mentioning that Australia’s 89-run loss in the opening game against the 2021 T20 World Cup runners-up New Zealand derailed their defense in the tournament. The big jolt that the loss to the Kiwis gave to their NRR proved to be the decisive factor in the end.
Maxwell revealed that Kiwi opener Finn Allen’s quickfire 42 off 16 balls took that game away from the Aussies.
“They just had a player who was better on the day. Pretty much everything we did they counteracted in the first four overs.”
The hosts, however, registered victories against Sri Lanka, Ireland, and Afghanistan, but their match against England was washed out due to rain.
Bugger…
Australia to turn their attention to the 2023 ODI World Cup
Australia will now shift their focus to the 2023 ODI World Cup in India, set to take place next October, under the leadership of the newly-appointed 50-overs captain Pat Cummins. The five-time Champions last won the trophy in 2015, on home soil.
In a recent interaction, Cricket Australia (CA) chief selector George Bailey told cricket.com.au:
“Pat has done an excellent job since taking on the captaincy of the Test side and we look forward to him leading the one-day team to the 2023 World Cup in India.”
The Aussies will be looking to find an elusive ’complete game' as they begin their preparations against England in a bilateral three-match ODI series, starting in Adelaide on Thursday (November 17).
Cummins and Co. will also play in a three-match ODI series against South Africa at home in January.