Ian Healy has called on Australia’s selectors to ‘get real’ as the cricket great launched a brutal takedown of Mitchell Marsh’s T20 side, claiming that their leaders had ‘duped’ supporters like England’s Bazballers had done during this summer’s Ashes series.
It came as Australia found themselves on the brink of a shock early World Cup exit, after they suffered an eight-wicket defeat by Sri Lanka in Pallekele on Monday.
While captain Mitchell Marsh (54) and Travis Head (56) both brought up half-centuries to set the hosts a run chase of 182, Sri Lanka opener Pathum Nissanka swept away a brilliant century off just 52 deliveries to secure his side’s automatic qualification for the knockout stages.
The 2021 champions, who have now lost five of the six T20I matches they have played in 2026, now need a miracle to advance to the Super Eights.
Their World Cup exit will be confirmed if Zimbabwe claim victory in one of their remaining two matches against Ireland (Tuesday) or Sri Lanka (Thursday), with the Aussies having won just one of their group-stage matches.
But questions are being asked over their leadership group, with Healy unable to understand why star batters like Steve Smith and Matt Renshaw were left out of Monday’s clash as Australia’s top-order batters, Cameron Green (3) and Tim David (6), underwhelmed once again.
Cricket great Ian Healy (pictured) has called on Australia selectors to ‘get real’ as he launched a brutal takedown of the side’s performances at the T20 World Cup
Australia’s hopes of qualifying for the T20 World Cup Super Eights have been left hanging by a thread after they suffered an eight-wicket defeat by Sri Lanka on Monday
He added that Australia’s selectors had picked a squad that revolved around a power-based attack, rather than skill.
‘Let’s see if we can dissect this,’ Healy said on SEN Cricket on Tuesday.
‘The Australians bundled out in the early stages of the World Cup… which is more than likely.
‘We were duped just like England cricket, you know, in the lead-up to the Ashes.
‘There was defiance if ever criticised. There was denial that we could be wrong when we picked the power team to play in the finesse conditions of Sri Lanka and India.
‘Well, we’ve heard it all before. It was in November when England had assured everyone that the game had changed and they had it pegged.’
England were criticised during the Ashes series for being arrogant over their insistence to continue playing their brash brand of Bazball cricket. They ultimately suffered a 4-1 series defeat.
Healy continued: ‘Get real, Australia!
‘Our captain chose to retire, post-Bumrah, and finish his Shield cricket in December to have this tournament to totally devote to.
The team’s selectors have been thrust into the spotlight (Pictured: Chief selector George Bailey) after multiple former players have questioned the team’s preparations
Sri Lanka opener Pathum Nissanka swept away a brilliant century off just 52 deliveries to secure his side’s automatic qualification for the knockout stages
Mitch Marsh (pictured) admitted his side’s hopes of reaching the knockouts were in the ‘lap of the gods’
‘He was excited with the squad that had been developing at every chance. They had been on global tours all around the world.
‘We had two bowlers and our two best batsmen dropped in our probable final match for one all-rounder, one bowler, and the captain himself for his return. This was to lengthen our batting order.’
Their first innings against Sri Lanka was very much a tale of two halves. While Marsh and Head started excellently, their other top-order batters, Green and David, both failed to make it into double figures. The pair had both been dismissed for ducks during Australia’s previous clash against Zimbabwe.
Australia’s bowlers also struggled once again, with Adam Zampa and Nathan Ellis both going wicketless in back-to-back matches.
Healy then questioned the decision to deploy all-rounder Cooper Connolly, who has averaged a mere 6.75 runs in his last 15 T20 innings.
‘Cooper Connolly, really? How lengthened is that going to make our batting order?
‘It doesn’t make sense.
‘The team that they have left us with is full of all finishers; there are no starters. They can’t get started in Sri Lanka. As we’ve just talked about, Cameron Green at three, Tim David at four, Josh Inglis at five, having been opener and seven – he’s getting bounced around and they’re wasting his good form.
‘It’s an unbalanced team.’
Australia’s top-order batters, Cameron Green (pictured) and Tim David, both failed to make it into double figures during Monday’s match
Australia’s bowlers have also struggled to take wickets in their last two matches (Pictured L-R: Nathan Ellis and Marsh)
Healy pointed out that Australia’s selection ‘misguidance’ began back in November.
Team bosses had not planned to deploy Smith during the World Cup, but in the absence of Marsh, the stand-in Test skipper had flown out to the tournament. Smith ran drinks on Monday, but bizarrely wasn’t included in the squad for the must-win match.
Healy was also left scratching his head at why fellow batter Matt Renshaw was dropped for the Sri Lanka clash. Renshaw has been one of the side’s best batters during the tournament, having struck a high score of 65 runs during their defeat by Zimbabwe and amassed 37 runs against Ireland.
‘Then there’s [Sean] Abbott, [Steve] Smith, [Matt] Renshaw just waiting for Oman now. You going to play that game?
‘The selection misguidance was a year ago when they really prioritised power over batsmanship, over confidence, over grit.
‘Then they forgot form and performance over what possibly could happen, i.e. if David goes off like he did in the West Indies a year ago.
‘Glenn Maxwell comes good, Marcus Stoinis does a job for us at some stage. I’ve got five players that just needed to come up and didn’t!’
Marcus Stoinis (pictured) sunk to his haunches during the match. He would take Australia’s only two wickets as Sri Lanka stormed to victory
Glenn Maxwell (pictured) has also underwhelmed, averaging just 20 runs during the tournament
Maxwell has also underwhelmed, averaging just 20 runs during the tournament.
‘Maxwell, he must complete. He got out for starts of 20 or so and just didn’t get the job done, like he has a couple of times before.
‘Stoinis must hit out, hit strongly down the ground, over fielders and hard back past the bowlers.
‘Tim David must finish. Cooper Connolly must wait. If Glenn Maxwell finishes and he starts to develop better as his replacement, then maybe. But the fact that he [Connolly] was in our bowling attack as a front-line bowler is just not good enough.’
While Australia have been hampered by the absences of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood during the tournament due to injury, their bowlers have also underwhelmed.
Despite both taking four wickets against Ireland, Ellis and Zampa failed to take a wicket against Zimbabwe or Sri Lanka, while right-arm fast bowler Xavier Bartlett has also struggled with the ball in hand.
Healy believes that selectors have wrongly ignored players who are in form.
Abbott, meanwhile, travelled as a reserve for the World Cup, but is yet to play a game at the tournament, despite having taken seven wickets in the last six T20I matches he has bowled in.
The slight silver lining for Australia was their captain (pictured), who returned to the squad to strike a half-century
‘We claim to be very clever developing this future, but it got all soft on us in their cushy little club at the top of Australian T20 cricket. Too long-term with our selections, not going with red-hot form.
‘[Adam] Zampa and [Nathan] Ellis need support because Sri Lanka just ensured that they didn’t get wickets.
that they didn’t get wickets.
‘And the other bowlers didn’t worry them at all. Stoinis, Maxwell and Connolly are just not an Australian bowling attack. They are part-timers who can be handy, but that’s about it.
‘Especially while Abbott is on the bench and not being put into the squad, if that’s the bowler that we’ve got to go with [Ben] Dwarshuis, in the absence of [Pat] Cummins and [Josh] Hazlewood – [Mitchell] Starc having retired.
‘The Australian team on the park in Pallekele overnight is not good enough and is playing poorly in conditions that don’t suit them. How did we get to this? Having put so much thought into this?
‘This is an Australian cricket low point.’
Australia will play their final group game against Oman on Friday, but depending on other results in the group, that match could be inconsequential.
