Australia down, but not out? Travis Head points to 2023 ODI World Cup comeback blueprint

NEW DELHI: Zimbabwe pulled off a major upset in Group B of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, defeating Australia by 23 runs at the R. Premadasa Stadium on Friday. After posting 169 for 2, Zimbabwe successfully defended the total, bowling Australia out for 146 in 19.3 overs.


Despite the setback, stand-in Australia captain Travis Head urged calm, pointing to their turnaround in the 2023 ODI World Cup after a shaky start.



"We've been there before. I said at the toss, we saw it in 2023 with a few defeats and injuries. We have a few guys here who were there in India in 2023 and we'll look to navigate this situation and use that blueprint."

Head explained that the decision to field first was influenced by the nature of the pitch, which he believed would play consistently across both innings. He felt the target was within reach.

"We thought it's a good wicket. A bit tacky at the start and we thought it would be even through the two innings. Even though we only took two wickets, I thought they were a bit under par.

"But we lost early wickets and came under pressure. They played well. I still felt like we'd have taken the score and were happy to chase that.

"The feedback throughout was that it was a good wicket. We put ourselves under pressure by losing wickets. We found a partnership in the middle but we left ourselves with too many."

Australia’s campaign has also been impacted by injuries. Mitchell Marsh remains unavailable with a groin problem, while Tim David recently returned from a hamstring strain.

Their pace resources are stretched as well, with Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood missing — marking the first time since 2011 that Australia are competing at a World Cup without Cummins, Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc together.



Get the latest ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 updates, including the full schedule, teams, live scores, points table, and key series stats such as top run-scorers and wicket-takers.