Marcus Stoinis of Australia celebrates wicket of Harry Brook of at Manuka Oval (Image: Izhar Khan)
With the T20 World Cup just days away, Marcus Stoinis showed a determination to retain his spot despite healthy competition.
Australia brought back its most recognised line-up in attempt to prevent a second loss and conceding the three match series to England.
The bowling quartet in Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Adam Zampa returned to the Australian side in a World Cup dress rehearsal.
The changes quickly appeared to be a substantial improvement on Sunday’s defeat. With the help of Marcus Stoinis, Australia claimed four wickets whilst holding the tourists to a respectable 70 runs after the first 10 overs in the first innings.
Stoinis, aware that his spot in Australia’s World Cup XI is being challenged, brought plenty of energy and should’ve had three wickets early if it weren’t for Glenn Maxwell letting one slip through his fingers.
After an over of adversity, Stoinis’ third wicket eventually came as Australian captain, Aaron Finch showed faith in the all-rounder to bowl the final over of the innings, dismissing Dawid Malan on 82.
Trying to match the same tempo with the bat, Stoinis got off the mark with a major. Understanding a need to lift the run rate, Stoinis wasn’t going to let game drift away from him.
Taking on a little too much saw Stoinis depart for 22 from 13 balls.
It wasn’t exactly a standout performance from Stoinis, but he showcased a determination to hold his place for the World Cup.
Stoinis faces strong competition from the likes of up and comer, Cameron Green. Green has struggled with the ball in T20I’s but has managed a couple half centuries among primarily single digit scores with bat in his last six outings.
They may have been momentarily silenced, but Stoinis won’t stop the calls from Australian supporters to pick Green as they hunger to see what his potential holds.
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Allan Border Medallist, Mitch Star, was pleased with the performance from Stoinis, particularly with the ball.
“It’s great to see him be really impactful with the ball,” Starc said.
“We know how strong and impactful he is with the bat. To come off a little bit of an injury lay off with with his side, to be as effective with the ball that we know he can do was great to see as well.
“So we know what an all round package is. He’s played a lot of cricket for Australia and will no doubt play big part at the World Cup.”
Despite batting cameo’s from Mitchell Marsh (45 off 29 balls) and Tim David (40 off 23), Australia as a whole struggled to gain any momentum throughout the match. England went on to win by eight runs, just as they did in the first match.
Manuka Oval will host the last of the three match T20 series between Australia and England on Friday, 14.
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