Nathan Ellis is the senior fast bowler in Australia’s men’s T20 squad almost by default, and he knows why. Josh Hazlewood’s calf problem has ruled him out of the 2026 T20 World Cup, Pat Cummins is still recovering from a fractured wrist, and Mitchell Starc has stepped away from the format altogether.
“You lose a world-class player and one of the better white-ball bowlers in the world in Hoff [Hazlewood], things are always going to have to change,” Ellis said before training in Paarl. “Really unfortunate for our squad that Hoff’s missing out but also for him. I feel like the poor bugger’s had a tough few months and hasn’t been able to get up. My role will [be to] try to be adaptable as much as I can but, yeah, missing Josh Hazlewood is always a big miss.”
Hazlewood’s absence means Australia will begin their campaign against Ireland on Wednesday with a pace attack containing just 64 T20 international caps between five bowlers. Ellis owns half of them (32), Ben Dwarshuis has 14, Xavier Bartlett 18, and the fast-medium overs will be topped up by the all-round pair of Cameron Green and Marcus Stoinis. Sean Abbott is travelling as cover but is not yet part of the official 14-man squad.
While that ledger looks light, Ellis argues the group has already done the heavy lifting during the last two years when the “big three” were tied up with Test cricket. “We’ve had 18 to 24 months of cricket together where the big three haven’t been playing and have had bigger workloads in the Test arena,” he noted. “So we’ve had time to form connections and form relationships on and off the field. As a bowling unit I actually think we work together really, really well.
“We’ve all got sort of different skill sets and we can gel together on the night and in different phases of the game. Massively beneficial from the work in the last 18 months leading up to now, so it’s not going to be a foreign space for us without those two big names. Obviously, a squad with Hoff and Cummo is a strong squad, but without them I feel like we’re just as well-placed to go deep.”
Dwarshuis brings left-arm variation and a slower-ball repertoire honed in the BBL, while Bartlett has impressed with a lively new-ball spell that swings at decent pace. Green and Stoinis lend muscular hitting down the order but also offer cutters and shoulder-high bouncers that act as change-ups on South African pitches that can grip in the evening.
Ellis himself missed the Big Bash League finals with the Hobart Hurricanes because of a minor hamstring strain. The medical staff are optimistic, though the management might still hold him back until the Zimbabwe match on Friday if there is any residual tightness after Monday’s main training session. “I’m conscious of jinxing myself here,” Ellis admitted. “I feel really good in myself, it was a very precautionary [missing BBL], there was something there a couple weeks ago … and we’ve taken a really cautio–”. He laughed, tapped the nearest wooden boundary marker, and walked away to join the warm-ups, leaving the sentence unfinished.
Australia’s brains trust, led by head coach Trevor Bayliss and bowling coach Daniel Vettori, is unlikely to summon a like-for-like replacement for Hazlewood until they have a clearer read on conditions. They could, for instance, draft in wrist-spinner Tanveer Sangha if surfaces continue to slow, or recall Abbott should they prefer a conventional seamer.
Former India batter and analyst Aakash Chopra, speaking on a World Cup preview broadcast, believes Australia still possess enough firepower to win the tournament. “Australia have the power to cross 200 regularly,” he said, pointing to Glenn Maxwell, David Warner and Tim David in a batting order that tends to attack from ball one.
Ellis appreciates the plaudits but is concentrating on more immediate goals. “First job is getting through Ireland, who swing it up front and bat deep. After that we’ll reassess,” he said, packing away his boots as the afternoon sun dipped below Boland Park’s grandstand. A messy build-up, perhaps, but for now Australia’s stand-in spearhead sounds genuinely comfortable with the hand he and his fellow understudies have been dealt.
