Zampa replaces Agar as Aussies bat first

Australia are going all guns blazing into a rare contest with Ireland, with their T20 World Cup title defence on the line at the Gabba.

Having won 20 of the last 26 T20 International tosses he has contested, Aaron Finch's remarkable luck finally deserted as his opposite number Andrew Balbirnie elected to bowl first on a warm evening in Brisbane.

There is only change from the team the Aussies took into their win over Sri Lanka last week, with Adam Zampa recovering from COVID-19 to retake his spot at the expense of Ashton Agar.

Matthew Wade, who also tested positive last week, is right to play. The wicketkeeper was set to face against England despite having the virus but has since tested negative.

At the tournament's outset, Australia may have circled this match as one to potentially blood some of their unused squad members. But their loss to New Zealand set their net-run-rate (NRR) back significantly and they now may need record a big win big to lift it to stand a chance of making the semi-finals.

That Ireland enhanced their giant-killing credentials by knocking over England in one of the upsets of the tournament at the MCG last week will have also put Australia on notice.

There are no changes to the Irish side that pulled off that famous five-run DLS win.

Tuesday's England-New Zealand game in Brisbane will have considerable bearing on whether NRR comes into the equation for Finch's side, with suggesting a washout is on the cards for that match, which would help Australia.

But Finch has insisted his side cannot afford to concern themselves with their NRR position.

"I think you have to earn the right to go after a run-rate (boosting) performance," Finch said on Sunday.

"We've seen how damaging how Ireland can be if you give them a sniff in a game. You never go into a game thinking about things like that. That will naturally unfold if the opportunity presents.

"First and foremost you have to do the basics well and get your team into a position that – if that presents – you can push forward.

"The last thing you want to do is push too hard and leave yourself a lot to do and then you end up in a stick or twist (situation). All we've got to do is win two games and hopefully things fall our way."

Australia-Ireland contests have been a rarity in men's cricket, with the two sides having met just five times and not at all since Ireland gained Test status in 2017.

Their last meeting was a one-off ODI in South Africa in 2016, while they haven't played a T20 since the 2012 World T20 in Sri Lanka. Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and David Warner all played in that match.

Ireland, whose key players are Josh Little, a left-arm fast bowler, and batters Balbirnie and Paul Stirling, are still hopeful of making the semis.

"It's something really special," Balbirnie told cricket.com.au on Sunday. "It's probably a position at the start of the tournament we didn't really think we'd be in. But now we're here.

"We're going to try our best to keep up with these top-class cricketers and play our best game. If that happens and a few things go our way, you never really know in this game."

Men's T20 World Cup 2022

Australia squad: Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Aaron Finch (c), Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

Australia's fixtures

Oct 22: Lost to New Zealand by 89 runs

Oct 25: Beat Sri Lanka by seven wickets

Oct 28: Match abandoned vs. England

Oct 31: v Ireland, Gabba, 7pm AEDT

Nov 4: v Afghanistan, Adelaide Oval, 7pm AEDT

Click here for the full 2022 T20 World Cup fixture