BEFORE the start of the ongoing T20I series against New Zealand, Australia’s T20I skipper Mitchell Marsh outlined his team’s composition, confirming that the top order was fairly settled,
with David Warner, Travis Head, and himself occupying the first three positions.
“I have batted [at] three for the last 18 months, so I will be there to start with.

And obviously Heady and Davey Warner have been amazing for us over the last period of time, so I daresay that will be the top three,” Marsh said on the eve of the series opener.
This, along with the fact that Australia have a packed middle-order featuring options like Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis, Matt Short, and Tim David, raises questions about Smith’s position in the T20 World Cup lineup.

However, coach McDonald confirmed that the batter was still pretty much in the running for the global tournament, which Australia won in 2021. He stated that Smith would get an opportunity
as the side would look to trial different combinations leading up to the World Cup.
Speaking after Australia’s win over New Zealand in the first T20I in Wellington, McDonald said, “If he wasn’t in our thinking then he would not be on the plane over here.

“We are playing him for a reason,” McDonald continued discussing Smith, “He will get some opportunity here, he had some opportunities in India at the back end of a World Cup, and we
were planning for him to play in South Africa as well going as far back as August-September [2023, but he unfortunately had a wrist injury at the time.”

Since Australia’s home T20 World Cup campaign in 2022, Smith has featured twice in the T20I setup, as an opener against India last year. McDonald hinted that Smith would continue to take
the same role in the side.