Steve Smith, Australia’s stand-in captain in the Champions Trophy, is confident they will perform well with a new-look side in the the absence of the injured Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Marsh.
Smith threw his weight behind the replacements — Nathan Ellis, Ben Dwarshius and Spencer Johnson.
“I think they’ve all got their own unique skills,” Smith was quoted as saying by the ICC. “For me, captaining them, it’s about me communicating with them and trying to get the right option out of them at the right time.
“They all do it differently, Ben Dwarshius and Spencer Johnson... trying to swing the ball back down the line. Sean (Abbott) has terrific lengths, Nathan Ellis has change-ups.”
With spin expected to be a factor in Pakistan, Smith said Australia were well-stocked.
“Yeah, we’ve got a couple of spinners as well with (Adam) Zampa and Tanveer (Sangha), who’s got a good skill set,” he said. “(In)
Glenn Maxwell and Matthew Short, we’ve got plenty of part-time options.”
Jake Fraser-McGurk has been a late inclusion, but Smith said “he’s got all the shots around the ground.”
