Marcus Stoinis should be playing all three formats, expresses David Hussey
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Melbourne Stars coach David Hussey is of the opinion that Marcus Stoinis should play for Australia in all three formats owing to his value and versatility. Stoinis was overlooked for Australia's limited-overs tour of South Africa and has not been a part of the side since the 2019 World Cup.
It has been a rough few months for Marcus Stoinis who, despite being named Player of the Tournament in the recently concluded Big Bash League, after setting a new tournament record with a tally of 705 runs, was bafflingly overlooked for the T20Is against South Africa. Even an injury to Glenn Maxwell was not enough to fit the Western Australian into the fifteen, as the selectors went ahead with the left-hander D'Arcy Short, who also gives the team a spinning option.
The omission of Stoinis did raise a lot of eyebrows and brought about a lot of questions and the latest person to bat for the 30-year-old is David Hussey, the coach of the Melbourne Stars franchise. Hussey described Stoinis as 'one of the best all-rounders going around in T20 cricket' and opined that the opener must be representing Australia in all three formats of the game.
"He's probably one of the best all-rounders going around in T20 cricket and probably the longer form of the game as well. If I were a selector of Australia, I think he'd be playing Test match cricket and one-day cricket and T20 cricket for Australia. He's that talented, he works hard, and is a great team man," Hussey was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo.
Stoinis has made 14 scores of 50 or more in his T20 career, of which only one has come when he's opened. The all-rounder's career average in the middle order (batting at No.5 and below), too, is a mere 27.80 and these factors enabled the selectors to go for Mitchell Marsh, who played in the middle-order for Scorchers in the recently concluded BBL edition.
But despite Stoinis predominantly opening the batting of late, Hussey believes that the Western Australian's versatility and experience of having previously batted in the middle will come in handy for any side. The former Aussie batsman further stated that Stoinis would 'fit into any team and any dressing room'.Â
"Marcus is so adaptable, He plays in the middle for WA in four-day cricket and one-day cricket and does very well for them. He's batted in the middle order for the Stars for a few years until he got cattle-prodded up to the top of the order, which he's excelled at. He's a great fielder, he's a great bowler, he's a great team man. Whatever the coach asks, he'll do it to the best of his ability and he would fit into any team and dressing room."
