Australia captain Mitch Marsh confirmed that fast bowler Nathan Ellis is fit and available for their 2026 T20 World Cup opener against Ireland on Wednesday, February 11 in Colombo. However, Marsh also revealed that Tim David will miss the match against Ireland as he continues to recover from his hamstring injury.
Australia will be the last team of the 20 participants to begin their campaign at the T20 World Cup. Several full member countries have already faced tough challenges from member teams during the tournament. However, the affiliated teams failed to cause any disruption early in the big event.
We’ll definitely see him back in contention – Mitchell Marsh over Tim David
Ahead of the match, Mitch Marsh said Tim David will not return to the team for their World Cup opener. Marsh added that David will be back in contention over the next few games as he continues his recovery.
“We will definitely see him back in contention in the coming games,” Marsh said during his pre-match press conference.
Australia will play the first two matches with just one day’s lead. They will take on Zimbabwe in their second match at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Friday.
Tim David continues recovery ahead of Australia’s busy World Cup schedule
Tim David is recovering from a hamstring injury he sustained during the Big Bash League in December. He has not played since Boxing Day, when he was injured while batting for the Hobart Hurricanes.
The 29-year-old has joined the Australian squad in Colombo but there is still no clear date for his return to match action. Since arriving in Sri Lanka last week, David has been training strongly with the T20 squad.
Tim David has taken part in batting sessions at every Australian training session in Colombo, with the exception of one optional hit-out, and has also completed multiple running and fielding exercises, including full sprinting between the wickets in match gear on Tuesday.
Nathan Ellis can lead Australia’s Pace Attack at the T20 World Cup
Nathan Ellis has been cleared to play and will lead the pace attack in the T20 World Cup. For the first time since 2011, Australia will play a World Cup without Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood or Pat Cummins.
Hazlewood has been ruled out with an Achilles injury, Cummins is sidelined with a back injury and Starc has withdrawn from the T20 internationals. Mitchell Marsh said the team remains confident in its depth as everyone has had match exposure.
“Over the last 12 months, guys like Benny Dwarshuis and Xavier Bartlett have played virtually all of our games, so we’re confident they can play a role for us,” Marsh said.
“We’ve put together a roster of maybe 18 to 20 people who have played in the last 12 months, and we’ve got game time for all of them.”
“They have all faced different situations in matches and although some of them haven’t played much for Australia, they have played a lot of cricket and we have a lot of confidence… in the group we have here.”
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