Australia captain Mitch Marsh confirmed that fast bowler Nathan Ellis is fit and available for their T20 World Cup 2026 opener against Ireland on Wednesday, February 11, in Colombo. However, Marsh also revealed that Tim David will miss the Ireland match as he continues to recover from his hamstring strain.
Australia are set to be the final team among the 20 participants to begin their campaign at the T20 World Cup. Several full-member nations have already faced stiff challenges from associate teams during the tournament. However, the associate teams failed to cause any upsets early in the marquee event.
We’ll Certainly See Him Come Back Into Contention – Mitchell Marsh on Tim David
Speaking ahead of the match, Mitch Marsh said that Tim David won’t return to the team for their World Cup opener. Marsh added that David will come back into contention over the next few games as he continues his recovery.
“We’ll certainly see him come back into contention over the next few games,” Marsh said during his pre-match press conference.
Australia will play their first two matches with just a one-day gap. 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 has been recovering from a hamstring injury he picked up 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 Australia 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 trained strongly with the T20 squad.
Tim David has taken part in batting sessions at every Australian practice in Colombo except one optional hit-out and has also completed multiple running and fielding drills, including full sprinting between the wickets in match gear on Tuesday.
Nathan Ellis Cleared to Lead Australia’s Pace Attack at T20 World Cup
Nathan Ellis is cleared to play and is set to spearhead the pace attack at 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 due to a back issue, and Starc has retired from T20 internationals. Mitchell Marsh said the team remains confident in its depth, as everyone has had match exposure.
“Over the past 12 months, guys like Benny Dwarshuis and Xavier Bartlett have played pretty much all our games, so we’ve got great confidence that they’ll be able to do a role for us,” Marsh said.
“We’ve built out a squad of maybe 18 to 20 people that have played over the past 12 months, and we’ve got game time to all of them.”
“They’ve all faced different situations in matches and while some of them haven’t played a lot for Australia, they’ve played a lot of cricket and we’ve got great confidence … in the group that we’ve got here.”
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