"I found the tactics a little confusing" - Mark Taylor dissects Australia's loss to England on Saturday
Former Australian skipper Mark Taylor was unimpressed by the team's selections against England in their World T20 clash in Dubai. Mark Taylor questioned Australia's inconsistency over Mitchell Marsh's selection and supported Steve Smith's inclusion in the squad.
Australia dropped Mitchell Marsh against England on Saturday and included left-arm spinner Ashton Agar in the side. Marsh's omission meant Australia had one specialist batter short and England's bowlers exposed it brutally. Although Agar picked up a wicket and contributed 20 runs, a total of 125 was hardly enough.
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Mark Taylor labeled England's eight-wicket victory a hammering and found the handling of Mitchell Marsh baffling. Taylor stated that Australia haven't stuck to a consistent top three. He said as, quoted by Nine Sports Sunday:
"They were hammered, no doubt about it. Absolutely hammered. The tactics I also found a little confusing. The fact Mitch Marsh for example - he batted at No. 3 in Australia's first game, then at No. 6 for Australia's second game and didn't get a bat... then wasn't in the team yesterday. That's strange. In this format of the game, yes, you have to be flexible. But you have to build confidence. I would love to see Australia settle on a top three."
Shane Warne also delivered a scathing assessment of Australia's performance, saying their batting order was a mess. The Victorian opined that Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis shouldn't have batted in the powerplay and Smith didn't deserve to be in the T20 team.
"I disagree with Warnie on Steve Smith" - Mark Taylor
While Taylor agreed with Warne over Maxwell and Stoinis, he advocated for Smith's inclusion in the side despite his poor outing on Saturday. The 57-year-old also called for consistency over Marsh's batting position.
"I agree with Warnie's point about Maxwell, maybe he is better down the order as a finisher. But I disagree with Warnie on Steve Smith. I've got to have Steve Smith in my team because he's that good of a player. I'd like to see us pick and stick, if you think Mitch Marsh is a No. 3, stick him at No. 3 and give him more than one game to prove it."
Having chased 126 with 50 balls to spare has hurt Australia's net run rate badly. Aaron Finch and Co. face must-win games against Bangladesh and the West Indies to avoid crashing out of the competition.