Luggage Struggles, Delayed Flight: Australia’s Tumultuous Start To T20 World Cup Journey

Lost luggage, flight delays and gusty winds on landing summed up the Australian cricket team’s rather tumultuous arrival for the T20 World Cup but all-rounder Ashton Agar said a cruise along the city’s stunning coastline was all it needed to calm the players. Australia will open their campaign against Oman on June 5 (June 6 at 6am IST). Pace spearhead Pat Cummins and fellow fast bowler Mitchell Starc had come back to Australia after the IPL for a short break and while heading to the West Indies, the former lost his luggage which eventually did reach him, according to a report in ‘cricket.com.au’. “Flight delays also affected Starc and Maxwell, as the pair had to spend a night in Los Angeles and then another night in Miami en route to Barbados after their own brief trips back to Australia following the IPL,” the website reported.

Marcus Stoinis also had to miss a practice match after his kit was delivered late to him.

However, Agar said a cruise on Saturday has managed to bring in a sense of calm for the side, which had to put support staff on ground during its practice games due to lack of first-choice players at that time.

“A lot of the boys are coming off a long time in India in the IPL, maybe 48 hours at home for a couple of them, so to do something like that is so refreshing,” Agar told reporters.

“I think mentally once you’ve done that, you go into the sessions ready to go, because you’ve already enjoyed what the Caribbean has to offer.

“We were sitting on the roof of the catamaran as we were coming back last night and ‘Stoin’ (Stoinis) actually mentioned that, ‘I don’t know if many other teams would be like this’,” he added.

Agar said one of the memorable moments was watching the sunset.

“You’ve got all the boys sitting on the roof watching the sun go down, having a drink together, having a genuinely good time and enjoying each other’s company.

“It was pretty easy to forget you’re here for a World Cup,” he quipped.

Agar did show up for an optional training session though.

“Before a tournament where you’re not going to train too much when the matches come thick and fast, you want to get all your drills in,” said Agar.

“You want to make sure you’re good to go, your mechanics are working well, nailing that four-to-six meter length, getting my shoulder on the right path,” he asserted.