Age No Bar: Australia back veteran pace trio to lead 2027 World Cup title defence

Age doesn’t seem to be a problem for Mitchell Starc, Australian ODI captain Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, the three pace veterans the Australia wish to have on board for their title defence in the 2027 ODI World Cup. The two-time ODI World Cup-winning trio would be entering the ‘concerned age’ bracket by the time the next showpiece event comes across, but Australian head coach Andrew McDonald is hopeful of them staying fit for the 14-team tournament. While the selectors have rested the pace attack for the away sub-continent ODI tours, the trio remain in reckoning for the packed calendar.

“I think people look at the immediate games and go, 'Well, why aren't they playing there?'” McDonald said. “But if you actually work back from 2027 and look at what we've got coming up, this is the last significant break that we get to invest into their bodies to set themselves up to get all the way through to 2027. We are planning for them to be there in 2027.”

While McDonald expects that the roadmap to their title defence and managing their pace attack's workload is stiff to begin with, he believes that by providing them ample rest, despite their willingness to play, Australia can remain in the winning position.

Adding that the three quicks were available for selection for the white-ball tours of Pakistan and Bangladesh, McDonald said that the CA, selectors and the management chose against picking them, saying they didn’t feel like ‘it’s the best time for them to play.’

"I think there needs to be a lot of trust in what we're doing to be able to get them there. It's going to be a significant challenge, in particular for our fantastic (sports science and medical) team, they've done a great job over a period of time," McDonald said.

"I think there's almost a misconception that the players are sort of picking and choosing as to where they play and which series they play in. These decisions are made around the management of what is coming up with in the schedule - and they don't choose that.

"We work with them on it ... those players want to play. We just don't feel like it's the best time for them to play," he added.

Meanwhile, hailing the pair as robust but ‘oldies’ at the same time, the head coach reflected on their age reality and how Australia can benefit from their availability.

"We are getting older, so that's going to create some different management challenges. They've been incredibly robust, a lot of those players, and a few have had a few recent (injury) pickups, so it's something that we need to invest a lot of time into,” he added.