T20 World Cup 2024: Mitch Marsh Set To Play In Australia's First Match; But Won't Bowl

Australia skipper Mitchell Marsh will not be able to bowl in their T20 World Cup opener against Oman on June 6 as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury sustained during the IPL, head coach Andrew McDonald confirmed on Friday. (More Cricket News)

The allrounder will feature only as batter against Oman.

In the two warm-up games that Australia played, Marsh only participated as a batter and did not even field for full 20 overs.

"For Mitch, (the warm-up games) was about ticking off where his body was at," McDonald told cricket.com.au.

"He fielded more overs tonight (in the warm-up against West Indies), he was able to move more freely, so he's building a little bit of confidence there. It looks as though he's all set for the first game," he added.

"The second part is just when the bowling comes back online... it won't be the first game," said McDonald.

Marsh had to return to Australia due to a right hamstring niggle that surfaced during his stint at Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2024. The allrounder could only score 61 runs in his four outings for DC and took just a solitary wicket at an economy of close to 13.

The Australian team, playing with just nine men, won their first warm-up game against Namibia but went down against co-hosts West Indies in their second match.

Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Cameron Green and Travis Head have not yet joined the squad as they flew back home after IPL.

McDonald said Australia was very well aware of the player crunch.

"It was by design, in terms of when we were getting people back after the IPL; we were well aware we weren't going to get the squad together until the first of next month," said McDonald.

"We've got some things in place where we'll bring the group together, we'll work through our plans leading into Oman and there's a bit of space between that game and (playing) England."

After their tournament opener against Oman, Australia play arch rivals England on June 8 in New York. They then play Namibia on June 12 and Scotland on June 16 to complete their group fixtures.