New Delhi, February 17 – Australian cricket legend Mark Waugh has criticized the selectors for not including batting veteran Steve Smith in the initial squad for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, calling it "the most baffling non-selection" and an insult to the senior batter.
Just a couple of days after being stunned by Zimbabwe in Group B, the 2021 champions suffered another upset loss at the hands of co-host Sri Lanka, who put up a strong performance to advance to the Super Eight stage of the tournament, leaving Australia's fate in their own hands, having lost twice in as many games.
After initially excluding Smith from the squad, Australia eventually added him to their squad hours before their crucial match against Sri Lanka, but he was ultimately left out of the playing XI.
"I think the entire campaign was doomed from the start due to selection issues and injuries. I think the preparation hasn't been great. It's probably unfolded the way I thought it would, even though we're in a pretty weak group," Waugh told SENQ Breakfast.
"I know you can't please everyone, and sometimes there are tough calls that can go either way, but to me, the non-selection of Steve Smith in the squad initially is the most baffling non-selection I can remember. I mean, here you have a guy who has consistently performed at a higher level in the BBL.
He's a skilled fielder. He's a great player of spin. He should have been the first choice, and he wasn't picked in the squad… then he wasn't even picked as a replacement, and then they brought him in, and they still haven't played him," he added.
Waugh was also surprised that Matt Renshaw was left out after his scores of 37 and 65 in Australia's first two games. "Then you have Matt Renshaw, who looks like he's one of the few players in form, and he's been left out of the big game last night. T20 cricket is the hardest format to find form in. You need to pick players who are in form, because the batsman doesn't get time to build his confidence," he said.
"Look at the selections. Look at Maxwell, Connolly, Green and Inglis; these guys are all out of form. Maxwell and Connolly have not scored a run in three months between them. The selectors have their plans in place, but you have to be smart enough to see which players are in form and which players are out of form, and you have to play the percentages a lot better than what our selectors have played at the moment.
Waugh further termed Smith's omission as an insult to one of the game's all-time greats. "It's just been baffling some of the selections, and injuries haven't helped obviously. I just think they've got the selections completely wrong and to have your best player by 100 yards sitting on the sideline in Steve Smith… I think it's an insult to Steve Smith, to be honest," Waugh added.
After their eight-wicket loss to Sri Lanka, the Aussies are now on the brink of an unthinkable reality of not progressing. They will now be hoping that Ireland can beat Zimbabwe to keep their slim chances of progressing alive. And if that eventuates, there is still a lot of work to do, starting with needing a strong, NRR-boosting win over Oman and hoping Sri Lanka beats Zimbabwe well. Then it would come down to NRR.
