\u201cAll that [criticism] is a response to the performances of Australian cricket teams in these competitions,\u201d says McDonald
\n MELBOURNE
\nAustralia head coach Andrew McDonald put the blame for the team\u2019s humiliating T20 World Cup exit squarely on the players, rejecting criticism of their preparations and a \u201cfalse narrative\u201d that the nation is not taking the format seriously.
\nAustralia crashed out of the group stage following losses to Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, triggering acrimony on the home front.
\nFormer players and pundits have zeroed in on Australia\u2019s preparations for the tournament, which saw members of the squad arrive late to a warm-up series in Pakistan after prioritising the Big Bash League.
\nAustralia were thumped 3-0 by Pakistan before failing to qualify for the World Cup\u2019s Super Eight phase. McDonald dismissed criticism that Australia had not prioritised the tournament, saying the team had been \u201cfully locked into (it) for a period of time\u201d.
\n\u201cI have heard that sort of narrative that T20 World Cups don\u2019t matter to us,\u201d he told reporters. \u201cI think all that is a response to the performances of Australian cricket teams in these competitions.
\n\u201cWe won in 2021, and we haven\u2019t been as successful since then. The expectations on the Australian cricket team are high \u2014 and rightfully so.
\n\u201cBut to sit back and say that we\u2019re prioritising other formats or other versions of the game and not the T20 World Cup is entirely false.\u201d
\nAustralia were missing leading pace bowlers Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood due to injury, but McDonald said the available players were good enough but had not performed.
\n\u201cIt shouldn\u2019t be about the players that we\u2019re missing,\u201d said McDonald, who is also a selector.
\n\u201cIt should be looking at the performances, and we\u2019re disappointed in those. We need to own those, and the critique is fair and reasonable.\u201d
\nAustralia finish their tournament with a dead rubber against Oman in Pallekele later on Friday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cAll that [criticism] is a response to the performances of Australian cricket teams in these competitions,\u201d says McDonald MELBOURNE Australia head coach Andrew McDonald put the blame for the team\u2019s humiliating T20 World Cup exit squarely on the players, rejecting criticism of their preparations and a \u201cfalse narrative\u201d that the nation is not taking the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":532467,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-532456","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n