Australia head coach Andrew McDonald admitted the team is devastated after crashing out in the group stage of the T20 World Cup 2026. Australia opened their campaign with a win over Ireland, but defeats to Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka left them on the brink of elimination. A washed-out fixture between Ireland and Zimbabwe ultimately confirmed their exit from the tournament.
The Aussies will now look to restore some pride when they face Oman, led by Jatinder Singh, in their final group match on Friday, February 20 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. McDonald stressed that representing Australia remains motivation enough, adding that the team is determined to put its best foot forward against Oman.
“Yeah, we’ve got a pretty sort of devastated group, it’s fair to say. I mean, the motivation is you’re still playing a World Cup game for your country. So we’ve got to plan and prepare accordingly. It’s a little bit of a rare situation we’re in,” McDonald said in the pre-match press conference.
“We’re usually alive coming to these points in time, but not to be. And yeah, we’ve put ourselves in this position. So hopefully, Oman, we can prepare and go and do the job there.”
NOT THE TIME TO LOOK BACK
McDonald said the team must move on quickly from disappointment and shift focus to their upcoming clash against Oman. He emphasised preparation and mental reset, adding that deeper reflection on their campaign will come later, once they leave the tournament and can assess events with greater clarity.
“I think any time you’re in that emotive state, It’s not looking backwards, it’s looking forwards and the next game is Oman. So we’ve got to get our heads right around that. We’ve got to plan and prepare against the opponent that presents. And I think the time to start to look back over what happened will be when we exit the shores here. And that’s when you can really probably get a little bit more clarity,” McDonald added.
Australia entered the tournament on the back of a 3-0 whitewash against Pakistan. They struggled to build momentum in the World Cup, with injuries to key players compounding their problems. It also marked the second time since 2009 that Australia failed to progress beyond the opening round.
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