Australia all-rounder Marcus Stoinis has welcomed the return of David Warner and Steve Smith to the international fold and believes the duo will bolster the side’s chances at the upcoming 2019 ICC World Cup.
Both Smith and Warner were named in Australia’s World Cup squad following the end of their one-year suspensions for their roles in the ball-tampering saga.
The two batsmen have been in excellent form for their respective sides in the ongoing 2019 Indian Premier League (IPL) where Stoinis is playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
“It’s (return of Smith and Warner) a massive boost,” Stoinis said on the eve of RCB’s clash against Kings XI Punjab.
“Also, the fact that people stepped up in the last three to four months and we started winning games consistently. It all adds to the mix and hopefully, it adds to a World Cup-winning combination,” he added.
Australia are currently on an eight-match winning streak.
After a disastrous 2018 in ODI cricket, Australia have been in excellent form of late with the team set to head into the World Cup on the back of an eight-match winning run.
The Aussies first came from 0-2 behind to beat India 3-2 in the five-match ODI series before drubbing Pakistan 5-0 in the UAE. Stoinis feels that the with those victories under their belt, the side is peaking at just the right time for the World Cup.
“I think everyone is really confident. Eight wins, to have them all away from home, I think is very important for us. We needed it as well,” he stated.
“We lost a lot of games over the last year or so. It’s good timing and I think everyone started to really believe in each other and we started playing really well as a team. It’s exciting times.”
Australia will open their World Cup campaign on June 1 against Afghanistan at Bristol.
