Australian coach Justin Langer has explained the 'horses for courses' mentality in the T20 World Cup, after some tough selection calls paid off in the opening game against South Africa.
After winning the toss and electing to bowl, the Australian bowling group got off to a great start courtesy of Glenn Maxwell (1/24 off 4) and Josh Hazlewood (2/19 off 4).
Australia were able to restrict the Proteas to 9/118 from their 20 overs, and got home in a thrilling run chase with just two balls remaining.
Ashton Agar was left out of the side on Saturday night as Langer opted for one spinner and looked to rely on his all-rounders, despite the left-armer being a fixture in this format for Australia in recent years.
Maxwell's effort with ball in hand was proof that Langer's decision to leave Agar out was the right one - but it also doesn't mean it will be the same for Australia's remaining games.
Speaking to the media on Sunday, Langer spoke about the tough decision he was faced with and why each game will be assessed on its own merits at the selection table.
“It was a very difficult selection - it was the same with Kane Richardson, it was very tough," he said.
"We went for the 7-4 setup rather than the 6-5, we felt that we were well-planned against South Africa. We knew we wanted to make an impact in the powerplay overs – we’ve seen through the IPL – and we also knew the strength of South Africa up front.
"Thankfully it worked yesterday, but I can’t emphasise enough how tough it was on Ashton Agar – his numbers are literally outstanding. It’s nice to have those selection headaches, and it worked okay yesterday.
"As it turned out, Marcus and Mitch Marsh didn’t have to bowl because Glenn Maxwell did an amazing job for us. To take that Bavuma wicket early and get his four overs out, he bowled beautifully.
“They are all tough decisions, there’s no doubt about that. We’ve said from day one to the players and we did in the last World Cup, we did it to a degree in the last Ashes series in England – we will look at the conditions and look at the opposition, and we will make the call we think is right for the team.
"It doesn’t always work out that way, but with all the information we have got we will work through that."
The performance from Hazlewood was sublime, and the 30-year-old is quickly becoming one of the best bowlers in world cricket across all three formats.
Langer said it was tough to leave him out of previous World Cup campaigns, but the confidence he is exuding after a successful IPL season made it an easy choice.
"Josh Hazlewood is up and running, and the irony with this is that he hasn’t played a lot of T20 cricket for Australia and he missed the last World Cup," he said.
"That was another heart-wrenching selection decision because we know what an outstanding bowler he is.
"In this instance he is up and running, he’s just won an IPL and he is confident, and we saw that yesterday.
"We talk about squad mentality, it was good to see Ash and Kane Richardson up and about with a smile on their face. That’s what we hope all the boys will do depending on whatever the selection is per game."
With the World Cup being held in the UAE and Oman this year due to the COVID situation in India, the pitches are playing a massive factor in team selections and on game day.
Langer believes there will be plenty of close contests similar to the win over Australia, and revealed the most challenging areas for this year's World Cup.
“The two challenges I foresaw leading into this series – I said it publicly and privately – one is the lack of match practice, and also the conditions we are likely to play on," he said.
"They played here in the UAE and with the wickets, there are going to be some tight games.
"As wickets deteriorate, whether you go for the spinners or quicks will mean for all the public – there’s going to be some very close games.
“It’s nice to get the two points in the bank, it was very nice to beat South Africa because they’ve been in red-hot form and they are a really good team.
"It was nice to get points early and one of the areas we have been looking for improvement in is our run chasing.
"It was nice to win a game chasing runs yesterday – it was great to see Marcus Stoinis and Matthew Wade scoring runs at the end. They did a brilliant job for us, as did Steve Smith during the middle.
"It’s usually what happens on these sorts of wickets, so we will just sum up each condition. We’ll work it out and hopefully we will get it right more often than not."
