3 reasons why Australia must play Nathan Ellis in their playing 11 for the T20 World Cup 2024
Australia have the best win percentage in T20 World Cup history among teams who have participated more than once. The Aussies have won 62.5% of their matches at the grand stage, and there is a reason why they have been so successful.
One of the biggest reasons is that the Aussie selectors do not mix formats and the team management does not care if they have to leave out a big name to form the best combination. For example, Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, who won the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup last year, are missing from Australia's T20 World Cup 2024 squad.
Most fans expect the Aussies to field their tried and tested pace trio of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc in all T20 World Cup 2024 matches. However, former Australian Test captain Tim Paine opined that Nathan Ellis deserves to feature in the starting XI. Here's what Paine told ESPN's Around The Wicket:
"I think Australia have a great opportunity, and I hope they take it in this World Cup, and that is to pick Nathan Ellis. He would be my third quick."
Paine has played a lot of cricket with Ellis for Tasmania, and here are three reasons why Australia must follow the suggestion from their former Test captain.
#1 Nathan Ellis can perform well on T20 World Cup 2024 pitches
Just before the T20 World Cup 2021, Nathan Ellis made his T20I debut for Australia in an away bilateral series against Bangladesh. The conditions in Mirpur were not ideal for batting, but it still required some skill from the bowlers to make maximum impact.
Playing his debut T20I, Ellis returned with a hat-trick against Bangladesh. The conditions in the USA and West Indies will be challenging for batters, which is why Australia should think of including Ellis in the playing XI.
#2 Nathan Ellis will bring variety to Australia's bowling attack
Just like Tim Paine pointed out in his interview, Mitchell Starc should be Australia's first-choice pacer. For the second pacer, they should go with either Josh Hazlewood or Pat Cummins, with Nathan Ellis being the third option.
Explaining the reason why Ellis deserves a place in the team, Paine highlighted the different skills that he brings to the table.
"I think he just complements the other guys really well, he's got a different skillset, comes from a different angle, different height, and think some variety in the attack will be really important to win this World Cup," Paine said.
#3 Nathan Ellis has been excellent in powerplay and in death overs
IPL 2024 happened recently, and Pat Cummins emerged as the bowler who gave away the most number of runs. Since Cummins is not leading Australia in the T20 World Cup 2024, the Aussies may consider leaving him out for Nathan Ellis, who has done well in powerplay as well as death overs.
Ellis has the second-best economy rate (7.08) in powerplay among Australian bowlers in T20 cricket since 2020. In the death, he has the best economy rate (8.88) among all Aussies who have bowled at least 100 balls in T20 matches since 2020. Leaving out a player like Ellis could prove to be a huge blunder for Australia.