Australia may be heading into the T20 World Cup without their leading fast bowlers, but Nathan Ellis believes the team’s reshaped pace attack remains capable of mounting a serious title challenge.
The reigning champions have been hit hard by injuries, with captain Pat Cummins withdrawing due to a back problem and Josh Hazlewood failing to recover in time after struggling with Achilles and hamstring issues. Mitchell Starc’s decision to step away from the T20 format has further depleted Australia’s fast-bowling resources, leaving the side without its preferred trio of quicks for the first World Cup in more than a decade.
Ellis, now the senior figure in a pace group that includes Xavier Bartlett and Ben Dwarshuis, said the new combination had enough experience together to compensate for the absence of the team’s marquee bowlers.
“We’ve played a lot of cricket together over the past 18 to 24 months, often without the big three because of their Test commitments,” Ellis told reporters on Monday. “I think we actually work really well as a unit.
“We all bring different skill sets and can adapt to different phases of the game. Obviously, a squad without Hoff and Cummo is missing quality, but even without them I feel we’re well placed to go deep in the tournament.”
Ellis himself enters Australia’s opening match against Ireland in Colombo on Wednesday short of match practice after suffering a hamstring strain while playing for the Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League. During his absence, Australia were whitewashed 3–0 by Pakistan in a warm-up series.
Typically deployed as a specialist death bowler, Ellis acknowledged that his role may need to evolve in Hazlewood’s absence.
“You have to assess each game and the conditions,” he said. “When you lose one of the best white-ball bowlers in the world, things naturally change. My focus will be on staying adaptable and doing whatever the team needs.”