Glenn Maxwell will make his return to Australian colours in tonight’s warm-up clash with the Netherlands in the side’s final tune up before Wednesday’s T20 World Cup opener against Ireland in Colombo.
Adam Zampa, Tim David and Nathan Ellis, while understood to be fit, won’t participate in Australia’s only official World Cup warm-up fixture as they turn their focus to preparing for their first Group B match on February 11 at the R. Premadasa Stadium.
Mitch Marsh’s side are set to take a traditional XI into their practice encounter with the Dutch at the same venue (of which there is no broadcast), with Josh Hazlewood yet to join the squad as he completes his recovery from an Achillies injury at home in Sydney and travelling reserve Sean Abbott unable to take part in the match.
Maxwell, David and Ellis have all joined the Australian group in Colombo in recent days after sitting out last week’s whirlwind three-match tour of Pakistan with the trio taking part in last night’s first training session since the squad arrived in Sri Lanka two days ago.
Melbourne Stars allrounder Maxwell appeared to have put his disappointing Big Bash campaign behind him as he found the middle regularly, while David also had an extensive hit under lights at the Colombo Cricket Club Ground after completing running exercises earlier in the session.
Ellis, who like David is coming off a hamstring injury suffered during Hobart Hurricanes’ KFC BBL|15 campaign, also took part in fielding and running drills before facing net bowlers and throw downs towards the end of the session.
Zampa meanwhile was present but didn’t train on Wednesday night after he bowled just two overs and didn’t bat due to a groin complaint in the third T20 against Pakistan last Sunday.
While his absence was precautionary, it’s been far from a perfect build up to the ICC’s T20 showpiece for the 2021 champions after being smashed 3-0 by Pakistan in Lahore as several first-choice players missed the series to complete the final stages of their respective injury rehabilitation.
Star paceman Hazlewood will also sit out the opening stages of the World Cup as he returns to full fitness following an Achilles injury that saw him ruled out of Australia’s 4-1 Ashes triumph.
Australia are perhaps fortunate to be the last of the 20 competing teams to launch their campaign, allowing them an extra four days preparation before facing Ireland on Wednesday. The World Cup begins on Saturday when Pakistan take on the Netherlands at Colombo’s SSC Ground, followed by West Indies facing Scotland in Kolkata and later co-hosts India kicking off their tournament against the United States in Mumbai.
The absence of Zampa from Australia’s practice game will put the spotlight on left-arm spinners Matthew Kuhnemann and Cooper Connolly as they push their case for inclusion in the starting XI for the tournament opener.
Conditions in Sri Lanka, where Australia will play all four of their Group B matches, are expected to more spin friendly than the typically flatter Indian pitches they will face if they qualify for the Super Eight stage.
More than 40 per cent of the wickets taken in men’s T20 internationals played in Sri Lanka have fallen to spin bowling, notably higher than the one-third spinners are responsible for at the five Indian venues selected to host matches during the tournament.
Kuhnemann was Australia’s most economical bowler after Zampa to play multiple matches during the recent series in Pakistan, with Connolly coming off a career-best 15-wicket BBL campaign for champions Perth Scorchers, which included six first-over scalps after being tasked with taking the new ball for most of the season.
While Australia were exposed by Pakistan’s spin-heavy attack on a Lahore pitch even more conducive than what they’re likely to face in Sri Lanka, their batting has been strengthen by the impending returns of Maxwell and David who have both enjoyed previous success on the subcontinent.
Maxwell’s highest T20 international score (145 not out of 65 balls) came at Kandy’s Pallekele Stadium in 2016 where Australia will face co-hosts Sri Lanka and Oman in their final two Group B encounters after launching their tournament against Ireland and Zimbabwe at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Thursday’s warm-up fixture also gives fast bowlers Xavier Bartlett and Ben Dwarshuis, the latter a late replacement for Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins who was ruled out of the tournament on Saturday, a chance to push for bigger World Cup roles while Hazlewood recovers from his Achillies injury.
Despite their recent struggles, which included a 2-1 series loss to India at home last November, Australia’s captain is confident his side can rediscover the form that has seen them lose just seven of 24 completed T20 internationals since the last World Cup in 2024.
“We know that conditions can spin in Sri Lanka and we’ll assess that when we get there,” Marsh said following their 3-0 loss to Pakistan.
“We’ve also got some extremely good players of spin coming back and (some) experience coming back.
“We’ve got great trust that we can play well in these conditions. Over the last four days we’ve just been outplayed by Pakistan.”
2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup
Australia squad: Mitch Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa. Travelling reserve: Sean Abbott
Australia’s Group Stage fixtures
February 11: v Ireland, R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo (8:30pm AEDT)
February 13: v Zimbabwe, R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo (4:30pm AEDT)
February 16: v Sri Lanka, Pallekele International Stadium, Kandy (Feb 17, 12:30am AEDT)
February 20: v Oman, Pallekele International Stadium, Kandy (Feb 21, 12:30am AEDT)
Australia’s Super Eight fixtures
(Assuming all seeded teams qualify)
February 23: Australia (X2) v West Indies (X3), Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai (Feb 24, 12:30am AEDT)
February 26: India (X1) v Australia (X2), MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai (Feb 27, 12:30am AEDT)
March 1: Australia (X2) v South Africa (X4), Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, 8:30pm AEDT
Click here for the full tournament schedule
All matches will be broadcast on Amazon’s Prime Video
