T20 World Cup 2022: "That's no excuse for our performance" - Andrew McDonald refuses to blame scheduling after Australia's group-stage exit

Australia head coach Andrew McDonald denied a cramped schedule as the reason for their pre-mature exit from the T20 World Cup on home soil. The former all-rounder also expects a squad shake-up ahead of the next T20 World Cup, but has ruled out radical changes.

England's last-over victory over Sri Lanka in Sydney on Saturday sealed Australia's early exit from the tournament.

The defending champions' opening loss against New Zealand by 89 runs meant they played catch-up in their remaining games. Narrow victories over Ireland and Afghanistan further dampened their hopes.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, McDonald stated that scheduling has always been a question, but sees positives out of it as several players got opportunities to showcase their talent.

The 41-year-old backed the selection decisions and felt it was the best squad they could've picked. As quoted by cricket.com.au, he said:

"I think the scheduling is always a debate and a question, but that's no excuse for our performance throughout the World Cup. I look at the positive around those games, that allowed some people to get up to speed, that were coming off injuries and we played different structures at different times.

"You saw Cameron Green go up the top of the order and that played out at the end of the World Cup. We felt we navigated through that the best we could."

With the Men in Yellow not having any T20I cricket until August next year, McDonald said rebuilding is their focus, but conceded of taking it step by step. He continued:

"The short turnaround (from last year's World Cup) lent itself to a similar squad. We saw Tim David come in for Mitch Swepson – we felt that was the right play coming into the tournament and as I sit here right now, I still think it was the right play.

"But we'll go through what that looks like in terms of building towards the World Cup in 2024."

He added:

"There will be some natural turnover because of the gap, and also the age profile of our team so there will be some people who get their opportunities albeit next August when we play our next T20 game."

Pace spearhead Mitchell Starc's omission against Afghanistan was one of the widely criticized decisions. However, McDonald and assistant coach underlined it being a tactical call and preferred Kane Richardson for his death-over abilities.

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"I haven't really put much thought or time into that" - Andrew McDonald on Aaron Finch's future

Aaron Finch. (Image Credits: Getty)

McDonald played down questions about Aaron Finch's future for the time being and felt that the upcoming Big Bash League edition should show where he stands. He added:

"I haven't really put much thought or time into that. It's still a little bit raw on the back of a World Cup, but he's got some time to think about that. The Big Bash will determine probably his future, how he goes there, his performances, how his body is holding up."

Australia will next lock horns in a three-match ODI series against England, starting on November 17.