Aussie squad already have 2020 vision

Australia have one eye on creating a squad nucleus for the home World Twenty20 in 2020, as they take on New Zealand and England this summer.

Australia's T20 team celebrate a wicket

Australia's revamped T20 team were too good for New Zealand at the Sydney Cricket Ground. (AAP)

Australia's vision for a first home World T20 title tilt is sharpening, with players believing they now have the nucleus of a squad that can build toward something special.

The T20 world crown is the one major international prize Australia has yet to win and it's getting added emphasis with the next tournament to be played here in October, 2020.

Mark Waugh's appointment as chief selector for the shortest form of the game last March showed a new focus from administrators.

In his first home series, against England and New Zealand, Waugh's squad has an average age of 26, with David Warner, Aaron Finch and Andrew Tye the only players over 30.

Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins are among those likely to come back into the group ahead of the title bid while in the prime of their careers.

Big-hitting Chris Lynn admitted the home world tournament was something the team was already thinking about after Saturday's rain-affected seven-wicket flogging of New Zealand to start the tri series.

"This team that we've got now - bar a couple that are resting - can really build something special moving towards these World Cups," Lynn said.

"We're hungry to turn around our form in T20. It hasn't been great in the last couple of years. So we're really keen and really hungry to get back to our winning ways in this format."

Australia's team now looks far more settled than the one that took to the field in the 2-1 series loss to Sri Lanka last summer.

Lynn and Glenn Maxwell are two of the most destructive T20 batsmen in the world, while exciting duo Travis Head and D'Arcy Short are battling for spots in the middle order once Aaron Finch returns from a hamstring injury.

Marcus Stoinis and Ashton Agar are also both establishing themselves as international allrounders, and lanky paceman Billy Stanlake's 3-15 in Saturday's win over New Zealand announced his arrival on the world stage.

Australia will take on England in their next match in Hobart on Wednesday night but Lynn said it wasn't too early to be talking about a world tournament that doesn't begin for another 32 months.

"Realistically, we are talking about it because you don't just win a World Cup a month before. Preparation starts now and we want to build a nucleus of a side now," Lynn said.

"I've always been in and out of the side and generally most of the guys can say that bar a couple.

"So if we can familiarise with everyone, we just go strength to strength.

"That way we don't have to have longer team meetings, we know what everyone is doing as a unit."


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Source: AAP


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