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Cricket PlayersCummins' luggage lost, flight delays for Maxwell, Starc; AUS stars' travel troubles en route to 2024 T20 World Cup
Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell went back to Australia briefly after the 2024 IPL.
Australia have finally got their entire team in Barbados in readiness for the start of their 2024 T20 World Cup campaign. Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell had to join the squad late as they briefly went back home to Australia after playing in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs. Pacers Cummins and Starc went on to play the final for SRH and KKR respectively, with the latter winning the title, while Maxwell's RCB were knocked out in the Eliminator.
Australia start their campaign with a match against Oman on Wednesday (Thursday IST). SRH's losing captain Pat Cummins had briefly returned home after the IPL final in Chennai. According to cricket.com.au, the Australian Test captain then spent two days in transit between Sydney and the Caribbean and his wife Becky said that some of Cummins's luggage was lost along the way as well. It was further reported that Cummins later recovered the lost items.
Starc and Maxwell had also returned to Australia after the IPL. The pair had to spend a night in Los Angeles and then another night in Miami en route to Barbados.
That came after Marcus Stoinis was left out of a warm-up match against the West Indies in Trinidad last week when his cricket kit failed to arrive on the island. The repurcussions of the logistical troubles were felt during the game in which Australia had only nine players to choose from for the warm-up games that Austrtalia played. Travis Head (SRH) and Cameron Green (RCB), were already in Barbados with the rest of the team despite taking part in the IPL playoffs.
Chief selector and former captain George Bailey and head coach Andrew McDonald were among the support staff who were forced to take the field to fill up for the missing players against Namibia on Tuesday. 46-year-old fielding coach Andre Borovec also took the field alongside Bailey when skipper Mitchell Marsh opted to bowl against Namibia. When Marsh and Hazlewood returned to the dressing room, McDonald and 49-year-old batting coach Brad Hodge had to step on the field.
