Apart from two disastrous World Cup defeats, 2024 has been Australia's most fruitful year in the T20 format and this has been largely due to their destructive powerplay batting.
Travis Head has played a vital role in Australia's “ball one” attack in the first six overs, and his return to the Indian Premier League earlier this year has also greatly benefited the national team.
Australia rank first by some margin in all key powerplay metrics in men's T20Is this year, a key factor in the team having the most T20 wins (14) in a calendar year.
Their win percentage in 18 matches is 77.77 which is second only to world champions India (84.21%) among major cricket playing nations.
Losing an average of just 1.3 wickets in the powerplay per match, Australia have the highest run-rate, strike rate and collective batting average in the first six overs in T20 internationals in 2024, as well as being the country facing the fewest balls per boundary.
In one of the T20 World Cup defeats that eventually played a key role in their tournament ending at the Super Eight stage, Australia lost three wickets in the first six overs on a wearing St Vincent surface to make 6-148 after Afghanistan put on 118 for the first wicket.
The second match was played 36 hours later against India, in which Head and captain Mitch Marsh took Australia to 1–65 in six overs, but they then tired while chasing a target of 206 set by the eventual winners.
While Australia did remarkable duty in 2021 on their way to their maiden T20 title, their win percentage of 45.45 that year – which included 4-1 series defeats to both the West Indies and Bangladesh – points to a team still trying to find its feet.
However, this year Marsh's side have shown the consistency that is often associated with Australia's great Test and ODI teams.
“We all know we're a very good cricket team,” Marsh told cricket.com.au after the third T20I in Manchester was washed out by rain, leaving England level at 1-1.
“We’ve obviously given players certain matches (and) certain players have been given different responsibilities throughout the match.
“We have young players who have experience and ‘Heady’ has had an incredible 12 months batting in the top order.
“T20 is all about performing well at the right time and trying to be as consistent as possible.”
That consistency is exemplified by Head, who has amassed 185 runs at an average of 42 strikes per 100 balls in all T20 cricket since joining Sunrisers Hyderabad in March for their first IPL campaign since 2017, which also included a stint with the Washington Freedom in the US league.
The left-hander has cited the regularity of T20 cricket as a key factor in his success, and Australia hope the same will prove true for newcomers Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Matt Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk as they prepare for the 2026 World Cup.
“I haven't played a lot of T20 cricket for the last 12 months,” Head said after scoring 59 off 23 balls in the series opener against England.
“Working on my game, a lot of it is about technique and what I'm trying to achieve with my swing. I feel like I'm in a really good position to hit the ball.”
In the group listed above, everyone except Inglis, who has 21 matches, had played less than 10 T20Is before Australia's tour of the UK.
Green and Hardie have already shown the benefits of playing consistently at international level when they put on a sensational death partnership in the second T20I in Cardiff, adding 36 runs in 17 balls to take Australia close to 200.
Head coach Andrew McDonald has indicated that Short, Fraser-McGurk and Green could replace long-retired opener David Warner, leaving a conundrum as to how Australia will shape their middle order ahead of the next global tournament in India and Sri Lanka in 18 months.
Josh Inglis scored a century from a record 43 balls against Scotland from first drop (Marsh's regular spot), while Green impressed with 36 and 62 at No. 4, which is usually Glenn Maxwell's batting position.
Marcus Stoinis and Tim David, who were among the team's best players in the World Cup in June, got limited opportunities in Scotland and both could not even play in two innings against England.
Australia's run-rate and strike rate drop significantly in the middle overs (7-15), and their number of balls per boundary increases, which is perhaps to be expected as the relaxed fielding restrictions make it easier for a team to score 10 runs faster per 100 balls in the powerplay than the next best team (West Indies – 165 vs Australia 175).
However, in the last two games he has also been exposed to the leg-spin of Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone, who took seven wickets together in Southampton and Cardiff while both conceding less than seven runs per over.
Tim David was dismissed off a sweep shot for the first time in his international career in the first match in Southampton, while Stoinis was dismissed off Livingstone both times in the series.
Australia's collective strike rate against spin in T20Is in 2024 is just under 144, around 30 runs less than against fast bowling, and their strike rate of 172.12 is the highest among all teams.
The absence of Maxwell – who is regarded as Australia's best white-ball batsman against spin – during the T20 leg of their UK tour was undoubtedly a significant factor.
Head said Australia's mantra at the top is to hit boundaries from ball one, and they have posted their two highest powerplay scores in the history of the format in both opening matches of the series (1-113 against Scotland and 1-86 against England).
If they continue to push their boundaries in the middle overs, while the batsmen are still making their mark in international cricket, anything is possible for a team that is no longer a T20 underdog but one that is expected to win the T20 World Cup every two years.
Qantas Tour of the UK 2024
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Australia T20 Squad: Mitchell Marsh (captain), Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood (England games only), Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Riley Meredith, Matt Short (England games only), Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa
September 4: Australia beat Scotland by seven wickets
6 September: Australia beat Scotland by 70 runs
7 September: Australia beat Scotland by six wickets
September 11: Australia beat England by 28 runs
September 13: England beat Australia by three wickets
15 September: Match cancelled
Australia ODI Squad: Mitch Marsh (captain), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardy, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa
September 19: 1st ODI vs England, Trent Bridge, Nottingham, 9.30 pm AEST
21 September: 2nd ODI vs England, Headingley, Leeds, 8 pm AEST
September 24: 3rd ODI vs England, Riverside, Chester-le-Street, 9.30 pm AEST
27 September: 4th ODI vs England, Lord's, London, 9.30 pm AEST
September 29: 5th ODI vs England, County Ground, Bristol, 8 pm AEST