Aussies thrashed by Pakistan in T20 World Cup warm-up series
Australia’s T20 World Cup preparations have been thrown into sharp doubt after Mitch Marsh’s side slumped to a humiliating 3-0 series whitewash at the hands of Pakistan, capped by a record 111-run defeat in Lahore.
The loss marked the heaviest defeat, by runs, in the history of the Australia’s T20 international team and followed a 90-run defeat just 24 hours earlier at Gaddafi Stadium.
Having lost the toss for a third straight match, Australia were again forced into the field as Pakistan piled on 6-207, their highest T20 total against Australia.
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Openers Saim Ayub and Babar Azam struck composed half-centuries before a late assault from Shadab Khan blew the margin beyond reach. In reply, Australia collapsed to 96 in 16.5 overs, strangled by Pakistan’s spin attack led by Mohammad Nawaz, who claimed 5-18.
Marsh was dismissed for one as Australia’s chase unravelled, while Adam Zampa was unable to bat due to a groin issue. Only Marcus Stoinis and Cameron Green offered brief resistance, underscoring growing concerns about Australia’s ability to handle quality spin on subcontinental surfaces.
With spin-friendly conditions awaiting at the World Cup in Sri Lanka and India, the series raised fresh questions about squad balance, particularly in the absence of injured skipper Pat Cummins and the omission of Steve Smith.
“With Pat needing more time to recover from his back injury Ben is a ready replacement who offers a left-arm pace option as well as dynamic fielding and late-order hitting,” selector Tony Dodemaide said.
“We believe his ability to swing the ball at good pace along with clever variations will be well suited to the conditions we expect and overall structure of the squad.”
Reinforcements including Glenn Maxwell, Tim David and Josh Hazlewood are expected to return, but the damage to confidence is undeniable as Australia head towards the World Cup under mounting pressure.
Smith has been open in his ambition to play a bigger role in T20 cricket, as he seeks a slot at the 2028 Olympic Games, even bulking up to add more power to his game. The stand-in Test skipper was in blistering form for the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash and will consider himself exceptionally unlucky, given the frailty of Australia’s top six against spin.
“Steve is an exceptional player who has worked very hard on his short form game and was rewarded with a great stint in the Big Bash batting at the top for the Sixers,” Dodemaide said.
“The current T20 top order has been very successful building into this tournament so we feel we’re well-placed in that area.
“If a replacement is required Steve is very much in contention and this has been communicated with him.”
Australia play the Netherlands in their final warm-up match on February 5 in Colombo, before kicking off their World Cup campaign on February 11 against Ireland.
Pakistan face Ireland in their final warm-up match on Wednesday, before kicking off their campaign against the Netherlands on February 7. They are paying 12.00 to win the World Cup, but face an uphill battle given they have indicated they will forfeit their game against India, given the geopolitical tension between the two countries and the ICC’s refusal to play it in Sri Lanka.
Australia is the outright second favourite to win the T20 World Cup at 5.00, behind India (2.25) with the host nation going to be hard to beat in their own conditions.
