Ireland aim to bounce back, Australia look to polish off any rust

Australia have had to wait a while to get going at this T20 World Cup. While the less fancied sides have already found ways to make the bigger names sweat, Australia have been in Colombo watching it all unfold, still waiting for their turn. That wait finally ends against Ireland.

It has been a slightly strange build-up for Australia, largely because the conversation has barely involved them. They are neither favourites nor defending champions, and they come in on the back of a 3-0 whitewash in Pakistan where spin consistently troubled them. The squad is also without Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, leaving Nathan Ellis to lead the pace attack despite coming off a hamstring injury that kept him out of the BBL final. Add the long wait to that list, and it has not been an ideal lead-in.

Ireland, meanwhile, arrive with fresher memories of Colombo and a fair bit of frustration. Against Sri Lanka the other night, they finished 20 runs short, the difference coming down to how shrewdly Sri Lanka bowled at the end. Ireland were 105 for 2 while chasing 164 and looked well placed before losing 8 for 38 runs. It was a collapse that must have stung, particularly after they had kept Sri Lanka to what felt like a par score and controlled much of the chase.

Ahead of this game, Heinrich Malan said Ireland had taken note of how Sri Lanka "took all the pace off the ball at the death". It is a lesson they will hope translates into some rewards at the same venue, and against an Australian side that has shown flashes of impatience against spin bowling. Ireland will also want to tighten up in the field after dropping four catches inside nine deliveries, that cost them dearly against Sri Lanka.

For Ireland, this is another opportunity to test a side that is yet to settle into the tournament. For Australia, it is about shaking off the rust and announcing their arrival. The waiting is done.

When: Wednesday, February 11, 2026 at 3:00 PM local

Where: R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

What to expect: The Ireland-Sri Lanka clash at the same ground on Sunday saw 25 overs of spin, the joint second-most in a T20 World Cup match. Expect more of the same, with spin and slower bowling having a major say. It's also a bowl-first venue, with chasing sides winning eight of the last nine T20Is here. The weather is set to be fair.

Team news

Australia

Mitchell Marsh confirmed that Nathan Ellis is available but Tim David would sit this match out as he continues to recover.

Probable XI: Mitchell Marsh (c), Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Cameron Green, Matthew Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Nathan Ellis, Xavier Bartlett, Adam Zampa, Matthew Kuhnemann

Ireland

Playing an extra batter didn't quite work out for Ireland but it could have looked a whole lot different if they had taken their catches and put a brake on the batting collapse. They are likely to give the same side a go.

Probable XI: Paul Stirling(c), Ross Adair, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker(w), Curtis Campher, Benjamin Calitz, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Matthew Humphreys

Did you know?

Adam Zampa is the leading wicket-taker for Australia in T20Is (139), well clear of the next best Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc (79 each).

Since the last T20 World Cup, Australia have the second-best run-rate (10.05) in the PowerPlay overs.

What they said:

"We've done some of that work over the last 24 hours leading into this game. Very clear around some of the plans that we've got in place for some of the Australian players. And if we can adapt to the situation and the conditions quickly out there, hopefully the boys can execute their skills well tomorrow." - Ireland head coach Heinrich Malan

"We were outplayed by Pakistan. And yeah, we've left it there, and we're ready to move on." - Australia captain Mitchell Marsh