.png)
Former Australian Cricketer Bryce McGain says Australia needs to find more firepower in the middle order to match the best T20 sides in the world.
Australia currently has Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David and Matthew Wade batting through the middle order in its current series against the West Indies.
Maxwell, who made 120 runs on Sunday night in Adelaide, combined with David for a late-innings 95-run partnership, taking Australia’s total to 241 runs.
McGain told SportFM the role David played was difficult, but is highly valued by teammates.
“When it works, and they just keep praising it because you have to play with so much freedom without the fear of failure,” he said.
“To really thrash the ball and strike it over 200 when it's required takes a lot of courage and the one thing it takes is a lot of support from your teammates and that's why Maxwell will be pumping him up, knowing that it's so critical.
“The best teams in the world all have incredible firepower through the middle-order and it's been something that Australia hasn't quite nailed.
“They're really trying to pump up Tim David into that and get that confidence up. So I think it's great to see him doing well, but we need more of it. You can't just rely on one. It's hit or miss.”
“The best teams… they have incredible power hitters that can just take the game away and back-end innings or chase down remarkable situations if the top order haven't fired. So it is a really critical role.”
WA all-rounder Marcus Stoinis has been coming in at five, but has had questions asked about his place in the side ahead of the World Cup.
Over the years, Stoinis has been a consistent performer with the bat for Australia, but has struggled to pass 50 since 2022 - doing so once in October 2022 against Sri Lanka.
McGain believes he is uncertain of the role he has been asked to play within the side at the moment.
“We've got him at five at the moment, trying to evolve him into an accelerator and what I mean by that is guys that can go out and hit boundaries straight away, I'm not sure he is that,” he said.
“He's better to get a few balls, get it going, and then he can back end the innings. But his form has been so lumpy, and I'm trying to separate his one-day form from his T20 form. His T20 has been a little bit better.
“His bowling, he's close to nine runs an over. Now, sometimes that replicates when he bowls. It might be in power play times and death bowling when he comes on, but it's still kind of expensive, isn't it?
“Maybe it is with the World Cup with only four games to go, they trust what Stoinis has done in the past and then maybe after that, they look to the future where [Aaron] Hardie might get a good run in it.”
June’s tournament marks the first time Mitch Marsh will lead Australia’s Men’s side in a major tournament.
His record as captain is currently unbeaten, sitting at 5-0 after sweeping the series in South Africa in late 2023 and sitting 2-0 in the current West Indies T20 series.
McGain says he likes Marsh’s leadership style and is pleased he’s doing well.
“I've always enjoyed where he is and early on in his career, like many, I just wanted him to be able to do it more consistently, and he's found the formula now. Everyone's acknowledging that he really understands the game well,” he said.
“It’s nice that he's got the guys around, like Glenn Maxwell and Dave Warner, who can just spy things out. Things will shift a bit over time as players go in and out but I think he's doing a terrific job.
“He's got all the great knowledge around him. I think he's doing a ripping job, and I think he's playing with great confidence. I love the way he's going about his cricket at the moment.”
IMAGE: Code Sports