Sydney: Australian middle-order batter Marcus Stoinis has said his side revels when the chips are down and promised a comeback following the defending champions’ massive 89-run defeat against New Zealand in the ICC T20 World Cup Super-12 game at the Sydney Cricket Ground on October 22.
Riding on a flourishing start from Finn Allen (42) and Devon Conway (92 not out), New Zealand blazed to 200 for the loss of just three wickets and then demolished the last edition’s champions for 111 runs in 17.1 overs to complete the rout.
“I saw ‘Wadey’ (Matthew Wade) spoke about that as well,” Stoinis was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au, referring to the wicketkeeper-batter’s comments he had always performed at his best when the chips were down.
“At the end of the day this is what we love to do — we know that we’ve performed under pressure. We know that when our backs are against the wall we can pull out the performances we want. We trust ourselves and we trust each other. I think sometimes the environment helps create a bit of that.”
Australia now face a do-or-die scenario in Group 1 against Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka in Perth and the allrounder said his side thrives under pressure. In the event of New Zealand and England — in the same group as Australia — don’t drop points against Ireland, Sri Lanka or Afghanistan, Australia will need to win against the three sides and also defeat England if they are to stand a chance of progressing into the last-four.
Australia were the underdogs going into the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE but won their maiden Cup despite being soundly thrashed by England in the group stages. In the semifinal, they defeated Pakistan in a thriller where Stoinis and Wade snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with a 81-run partnership off 40 balls.
That win was followed by a massive eight-wicket win against the Black Caps in the final.
“We still feel as though we have the right structure of team and we’ve got the right players to win the World Cup,” Finch said. “Whether you go in with an extra spinner or an extra quick, that’s the only real decision to be made,” added Stoinis.
–IANS