Last Updated on 11 months by Charbel Coorey

Cricket News: Australia T20 opener David Warner said it would be fitting for this team to hold all three ICC trophies at one time

No team has ever held the three major ICC trophies across formats. Australia’s men’s team has the opportunity to achieve a world-first in 2024 after a superb 2023 where they added two ICC trophies.

Opener David Warner believes the team is well-placed to add the 2024 T20 World Cup to their trophy cabinet. Speaking to the media ahead of the three-match T20I series in New Zealand, Warner said it will be fitting for this group of players to achieve further success.

“It would be very, very fitting for this group,” Warner said. “We’ve got a great balance at the moment with all three formats.

“It’s not just the men, it’s the women as well. We’re just doing a lot of things right, and everyone talks about Australia and winning titles.”

Squad has belief to win more trophies – David Warner

This core group of players have enjoyed success over the past decade, starting with the 2015 ODI World Cup at home. Since then, Australia won the T20 World Cup in 2021 followed by a stellar year in 2023 where they lifted both the World Test Championship mace and ODI World Cup trophy.

Warner believes Australia’s success comes down to the license to express themselves on the field. Also, the fact that the upcoming T20 World Cup is potentially the last major tournament a number of players will be involved in is added motivation.

“The coaching structure, the leadership structure allows us to express ourselves as we want, and I feel like the last 18-24 months has showcased that build-up,” Warner said.

“The character of guys we have in this group, we’re all really good mates, we’ve all pretty much come through all the grades and systems with each other so we know each individual’s game very well.”

The showpiece tournament, to be held in the West Indies and USA in June, will be Warner’s last assignment in Australian colours. Also, who knows how many more ICC tournaments Glenn Maxwell (35), Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc (both 34) and Josh Hazlewood (33) will play. So, Australia have focused on strong preparation, starting with sending a full-strength squad for the New Zealand series.

Mitchell Marsh will lead a squad consisting of Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, both of whom have not played a T20 International since the 2022 World Cup. Also, Australia are spoilt for batting options with Travis Head available, with decisions to be made on the make up of the order.

The first T20I will be played at Sky Stadium in Wellington on Wednesday February 21 at 7:10pm local time. Eden Park in Auckland will host the final two T20Is on Friday February 23 (7:10pm local time) and Sunday February 25 (1:00pm local time) respectively.

Australia squad for New Zealand T20I series: Mitchell Marsh (c), Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.