Marsh fit for Australia’s T20 World Cup opener

Australia captain Mitchell Marsh has been declared fit for their opening match of the T20 World Cup but he will not bowl.

The all-rounder went home from the IPL in April with a hamstring injury and only made his return this week in two practice matches in Trinidad.

But he did not play the full innings in either match, and a timeline for his bowling return was still unclear.

“For Mitch, the warm-up games were about ticking off where his body was,” coach Andrew McDonald told cricket.com.au in a commentary posted late Friday.

“He played more overs and was able to move more freely, so he’s building a bit of confidence there. It looks like he’s all set for the first game.

“The second part is just when bowling comes back online… it won’t be the first game.”

Marsh, officially appointed as T20 skipper last month to replace the retired Aaron Finch, will face Australia’s opening World Cup match against Oman in Barbados on June 6 with limited time in the middle.

He made 18 off 14 balls against Namibia and four off four balls against the West Indies in their two warm-up matches.

His recovery is the biggest concern for an otherwise fit 15-man squad looking to add the T20I crown to their ODI and Test world titles.

Pat Cummins, Travis Head, Mitchell Starc, Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green all missed the warm-up matches after playing in the IPL final and will join the squad in Barbados.

“We feel like we have enough time to get that group together,” McDonald said.

“It is a well-known group, they have played together a lot. If they hadn’t played together a lot, the preparation might have been different.

“It will just be finalizing the XIs for the games, and the balances we want. We have plenty of options,” he added.

© Agence France-Presse

Photo: Ashley Allen/Getty Images