He will be key to the Australian middle order, and also have the responsibility of picking up key wickets with the ball. With a fantastic IPL behind him, where he scored 480 runs at a strike rate of over 170 for the Lucknow Super Giants, Marcus Stoinis is a confident man and looking ahead to yet another successful World Cup campaign with the Australian team. While not wanting to say that they are favourites, Stoinis agreed that Australia are a very good side and that Pat Cummins is a real role model as a leader.
Excerpts from this conversation in this special World Cup episode of Backstage With Boria.
Boria: Almost everyone I speak to has said to me that Australia are one of the favourites going into the World Cup. Not just that, you will be playing India just before the competition, so you will have a better understanding of the conditions as well. With an ODI series win against India in India not too long ago, how are you looking at the World Cup?
Stoinis: I tend to agree with you that we have a very good side. If you take a look at each department of the game, you will see Australia has all the bases covered. We have power-hitters at the top of the order who can set the tempo, we have some fantastic batters in the middle order and then we have a good lower middle order who can make tangible contributions. With the ball, we have fantastic fast bowlers and some very good spin options. So, it is a well-rounded team, and I would certainly like to believe that we will have a very good World Cup campaign. Having said that, I don’t think I agree with the tag of favourites. There are a number of teams which are very good, and they have some very good players. So while we do have a very good side, these tags don’t really mean much to us as players.
Boria: You have the designated role of finishing games on occasions. You also have a key role with the ball. How do you prepare yourself for these high-pressure tournaments?
Stoinis: I consider these tournaments as huge opportunities to do something for the team. I am in that stage of my career now where I know each tournament is an opportunity. To try and make a serious difference. Whatever is asked of me – bat, bowl or field – my hand is up. Wherever my team wants me to play, I am ready. Finishing, like we have discussed in the past, is an art. I have spoken a lot about it to Ricky Ponting and learnt a lot from MS Dhoni. You visualise situations where you are there in the middle for your team in a critical situation, and you are vested with the responsibility of winning the game. These are occasions you live for as a player, and I am no different.
Boria: And how do you deal with reversals? Take the 2022 T20 World Cup, for example. It did not go well for Australia, nor did the 2019 World Cup in England. How do you deal with failure?
Stoinis: It is a good question. Failures make you stronger. There is no sport where you will not lose. And it is the first lesson we are taught as sportsmen and women. It has time and again been proved that losses make you stronger. You learn so much more from them. And we did so as a team in 2019 or in 2022. In my case, if things don’t go my way, and often they don’t, I spend some quiet time thinking what went wrong, I work things out with my coaches and support team, and I try and come back stronger. I always look at failure as an opportunity to get better, for only then can you get better in sport. Sport humbles you, is a life lesson and that’s what I try and do when there is an unexpected result.
Boria: You have played a lot of your cricket in India in the last few years. Two months every year for the IPL. A lot of the Australian players who will play the World Cup do the same. How much of this helps you demystify Indian conditions?
Stoinis: Yes, I am now going into my ninth season of the IPL next year. A lot of the other players like Dave Warner, Maxi [Glenn Maxwell], Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and, now, Cameron Green all play the IPL, and it makes a massive difference. We have a very clear idea of the conditions, and what are the kind of pitches that we might encounter during the World Cup. We also know the angles in each ground, the dimensions of boundaries, where to play our shots et cetera. These things make a huge difference in a high-pressure tournament like the World Cup.
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Boria: Also, a lot of the Australian players have major fan followings in India.
Stoinis: Absolutely, and a lot of us now consider India as our second home. If I speak for myself, I can tell you I just love the kind of fan passion in India. In Australia as well, we have big crowds coming to the cricket, but the kind of fan passion that I see in India is clearly unique. It can’t be replicated, and there is a tremendous amount of respect the fans have for the players. Take someone like Dave Warner. He has a cult following in India. The presence of these fans, who are sometimes really loud and you can’t hear a thing in the middle, adds to the occasion and makes the World Cup a very special tournament.
Boria: Because you mention fandom, the man most adored in the cricket world, and almost the same age as you is Virat Kohli. You have played against Virat and will again face him in India. What is it that you as a player think makes someone like Kohli so special?
Stoinis: I think it is his ability to pump himself up for the big stage. If you notice closely, you will see that in Virat’s case the intensity that he brings to the big stage is always more than a normal game. If to do so, he has to pick a fight or needle someone, he will do it. It is his way to get into the big-game groove. Once he is there, it is very difficult to stop him. Each one of us want to get to this big-game zone every time we play a tournament like the World Cup. That’s when you can perform at your best. But not always is it possible. In Virat’s case, he can do it more often than not, and that’s a very special quality.
Boria: Australia play India on October 8, which in many ways will start the World Cup for us. How do you look at this clash between two of the best teams. A kind of final before the final type?
Stoinis: I like the fact that you said two of the best teams. I do believe India and Australia are two of the best teams in the World Cup, and both have the potential to go all the way. Playing a very intense high-pressure game at the start of the World Cup can actually set the tournament up for you. When you play India, you know there is no chance of making mistakes. They will not let you make a comeback if you give them an opportunity. So it sets you up early on in the tournament, and it is something that can work for a team like us.
Boria: A word on Pat Cummins. After what he had to go through in February-March, he made a very special comeback in England during the WTC final and the Ashes.
Stoinis: He is a real leader in the dressing room, and each one of us has great respect for Pat as player and captain. His conduct has made sure that he has earned the respect that he now gets. Needless to say, he is a very good bowler. But more importantly, he is a really good colleague and someone who gets the best out of you as captain. That’s what is more special for me.
Boria: The two players who can make a real difference to Australia are Glenn Maxwell and Adam Zampa. While Zampa isn’t much talked about, he always picks up big wickets in key contests and Maxwell, his IPL form is proof, can turn a game on its head.
Stoinis: Yes, you are absolutely correct on Zampa, who is one of my best mates. He has this incredible talent of picking up the wickets of people who matter a lot. In fact, some of them we have discussed in the course of this interview (smiles). Such wickets can turn the game in your favour. See his performances in the 2021 World T20 in Dubai. He was brilliant. And Maxwell had a very good season for RCB. Not just with the bat, with the ball also he is a key player for us, and someone who has done very well in Indian conditions. As I said, I would like to believe we have the team to do very well in the World Cup and have a very successful campaign.
Boria: Final question – a word on Mitch Starc? Bowlers like Shaheen [Shah Afridi]or Starc, left-arm fast who can make ball move, are real assets to a team. Australia is lucky to have one of them.
Stoinis: I still remember and can actually visualise Mitch Starc getting Brendon McCullum out in Melbourne in the 2015 World Cup final. His white-ball, 50-overs record is phenomenal, and we as a team are expecting him to once again excel in this World Cup. When you can get the ball to move at speed, any batter will struggle. And Starc also has a lethal yorker. That’s not easy to negotiate for anyone, however good you are.
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