Australia captain George Bailey says his side have as good a chance as any other team to win the World Twenty20 which starts in Sri Lanka next week and a ranking of ninth will mean nothing when the main bouts get underway.
Australia’s opening clash is against 10th-ranked Ireland in Colombo on September 19 and and the Irish have been talking up their chances of upsetting Bailey’s men, who lost a T20 series to Pakistan 2-1 in Dubai earlier this week.
Bailey’s ninth-ranked side will play warm-up games against New Zealand on Saturday and England on Monday before launching their bid to win a first World T20 title.
Australia’s win in game three against Pakistan was built on a national-record stand of 111 between openers Shane Watson (47) and David Warner (59).
“If they fire for us, we’re very hard to beat. But I don’t think they’re the only ways we can win,” Bailey said.
“When other teams look at us, they’re two batsmen they’d focus very heavily on.
“But if you look through our batting order and our bowling attack, there’s plenty of guys there who have won games off their own bat.”
Bailey is part of a middle-order that failed to dominate Pakistan. He’s averaging 23.80 in his seven-game career, but did manage a career-best 42 in game two in Dubai.
Asked if his 42 off off 27 balls against Pakistan came as a relief, he said: “A little.
“It’s not something that I go out to bat and I feel it’s hanging over me,” Bailey said.
“But captain or not, your job is to be holding your place and performing. So it was nice to get some runs.”
Bailey, who made his debut earlier this year, became the first Australian player since 1877 to lead the national side from his first game.
The 30-year-old’s captaincy has yielded three wins from seven matches.
“It was a pretty daunting start,” Tasmania’s Bailey said.
“It’s tough to walk into any sporting team or business and be expected to run it from the first day.
“This will be our fourth T20 tournament as a group.
“I have felt a lot more comfortable in that role. I can make a more positive impression and start to actually do things.”