T20 World Cup 2021 | Marcus Stoinis fit to bowl in the next warm-up match against India
Australia all-rounder Marcus Stoinis is fit to bowl and has said that he will probably bowl in the next warm-up match against India. In the practice match against New Zealand, coming back from a hamstring injury Stoinis didn’t bowl despite Australia playing with four specialist bowlers.
Australia beat New Zealand by three wickets in their first warm-up game on October 18. Bowling first Australia restricted the opposition for 158. Kane Richarson bowled well taking three wickets for 24 runs. Chasing the target, Steven Smith scored 35 runs from 30 balls. Marcus Stoinis also played a vital role scoring 28 runs from 23 balls coming back from a hamstring injury. In spite of the fact that Australia were playing with four main bowlers, Stoinis played only as a batsman. Australia used Mitchell Marsh as the fifth bowler and he was hammered for 53 runs in his spell of 4 overs.
Giving an update on the injury, Stoinis has said that he is recovering well from a hamstring injury and will probably bowl in the next warm-up game against India.
" hammy is good. I didn't bowl tonight but it's tracking pretty well. It feels like it's on the right track and it's ready to go. I guess I'll probably bowl in that next game,” he revealed.Â
Smith and Stoinis stitched a partnership of 48 runs from 39 balls while chasing and played a crucial role in the victory. Ashton Agar also scored 23 runs from 18 balls. Stoinis was satisfied with his and his team’s performance saying that it was nice to get in the middle and build a partnership for the team.
"I think it's a good start. We obviously haven't played together for a while so that was nice to firstly get a win but two, to try a few new things and give a few people a crack. I felt alright. It was nice to spend some time in the middle. I've spent a lot of time in the nets lately, so it was nice to get in the middle and just build a little partnership and do what is required for the team. I think the way we were scoring was fine. I think ideally, we wouldn't have lost those three wickets for not many, but I think the scoring rate was fine. We had it in control. Ash and Starcy got it over at the end, and Ingo actually," he concluded.
Stonis’ bowling will be important in case Australia opts for a four-man bowling attack. Australia will play their next warm-up game against India on Wednesday and will play their tournament opener against South Africa on October 23.