'We take lessons and we move on' - Pakistan whitewash not on Marsh's mind

Australia captain Mitchell Marsh has emphasised on "adaptability" to be the cornerstone of his team's T20 World Cup campaign, as they seek to navigate a chaotic buildup marked by injury-enforced changes, which played their part in a historic series loss.

"Look, I think we certainly want to be positive in the way we go about things," Marsh said ahead of Australia's T20 World Cup opener against Ireland. "I think in these conditions, it's just about being really clear on how you're going to go about it and playing what's in front of you.

"The word adaptability has been thrown around in our team meetings so far and just adapt to whatever situation is put in front of us and get the job done."

Marsh spoke about the team's readiness, particularly in the wake of the 3-0 whitewash at the hands of Pakistan, one which included their worst-ever T20I defeat - a 111-run hammering in Lahore on February 1.

"We take lessons and we move on," he said. "We've obviously welcomed some experienced guys back into our group... We were outplayed by Pakistan. We've left it there."

The series saw Australia's batting lineup struggle against spin, a weakness Marsh acknowledged must be corrected on similar Sri Lankan surfaces.

"We certainly know the conditions that we're going to be faced with," he said. "And I think most teams will have, I guess, similar ideas on how they're going to go about it. So we're prepared for that and we're ready to go."

Aside from concerns about prepping for the conditions, the team has also been ravaged by injuries to key personnel. This will be the first major tournament since 2016 where Australia are without any of their long-time frontline pace trio: Mitchell Starc (retired), Pat Cummins (back injury), and Josh Hazlewood (Achilles/hamstring injury). Marsh, however, expressed total faith in a younger group that has shouldered the load over the last 18 months.

"Yeah, look, guys like Patty [Cummins] have played a lot for us over the last few years due to his hectic schedule, and over the last 12 months guys like Benny Dwarshuis and Xavier Bartlett have played pretty much all of our games," Marsh said. "So we've got great confidence that they've been able to do a role for us."

Dwarshuis, a late addition to the squad as an injury replacement for Cummins, brings a valuable left-arm angle, while Bartlett is expected to lead the attack alongside Nathan Ellis. While the pace attack remains inexperienced, Marsh expressed confidence in the depth built over the last year. "We've built out a squad of maybe 18-20 people who've played over the last 12 months... We've got great confidence that they're going to do well for us."

Tim David, however, is set to be held back until the second match against Zimbabwe as he continues his return from a hamstring injury, even though he has started training with the rest of the squad. "We'll certainly see him come back into the competition in the next couple of days," Marsh said

Tactically, Australia are prepared to pivot based on conditions, including the use of two specialist spinners in Adam Zampa and Matthew Kuhnemann.

"Absolutely… it's not something that in the conditions that we face traditionally happens but we've played with two spinners over the last probably 12 months a few times, and we've seen that Matt Kuhnemann certainly belongs at this level," Marsh said. "So yeah, if we go that way it will certainly be no surprise to us, and something that we've been accustomed to over the last 12 months."

Prior to the recent setback in Pakistan, Australia had been in formidable form, winning 17 of 24 completed T20Is since the conclusion of the 2024 World Cup. Their run included series wins against Scotland, Pakistan, West Indies, South Africa and New Zealand, but also a 2-1 series loss to India in late 2025 where spin again played a crucial role.

As they begin their Group B campaign against Ireland on Wednesday in Colombo, it's that larger picture they'll be keen to focus on.