Australia are going to face some major challenges in their upcoming matches in the ongoing ICC Men's Cricket World Cup as the team's coach Justin Langer is still uncertain about Marcus Stoinis' comeback.
Langer said that they will have to adapt if the all-rounder fails to feature in the team again.
"We've talked a bit about it, but we'll just see how he pulls up over the next few days. We know that it's important to have an all-rounder in the side if we can and if we can't we've got to adapt but we'll just have to see how he pulls up," Cricket.com.au quoted Langer as saying.
Stoinis picked a left side strain while bowling during his team's match against India on Sunday. Keeping the seriousness of the injury in mind, the team has called Mitch Marsh to London, who will join the squad as cover.
During their match against Pakistan, the Australia skipper was forced to bowl two overs in the match because of Stoinis' absence and conceded 13 runs but was able to take the crucial wicket of Mohammad Hafeez. Glenn Maxwell too had to bowl seven overs in the match from which he gave away 58 runs. Australia still managed to all-out Pakistan on 266 runs when they were chasing a target of 308 runs and consequently secured a 41-run victory.
While talking about the fifth-bowling issue, Langer said: "We're going to have to really tighten up that area."
Langer further added that not having an all-rounder is problematic.
"We'll have to work it out, but it certainly makes it more problematic not having an all-rounder in there. It's probably harder for Finchy than anyone else to have less recognised bowlers. Everyone's got to be on top of their game," he said.
Langer is now focusing on their next clash against Sri Lanka and is hoping to work out the best combination.
"We'll try and work out the best combination to beat Sri Lanka," he said.
Australia will face Sri Lanka on June 15.
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