Australia have opted to go in with just three specialist batters among their squad for the T20 World Cup, but still have plenty of firepower which should see them challenge for a second success in the tournament.
Left-handers Travis Head and David Warner are expected to form the opening partnership, while the only other specialist batter among the 15-man party is Tim David, who is expected to be used as a finisher lower down the order.
The Baggy Greens have placed much of their faith on all-round options, with skipper Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis all stronger with the bat rather than the ball.
Here we take a look at the main contenders to lead the way with the willow for Australia in the United States and West Indies.
Travis Head - 3.25
Travis Head has become a vital member of the Aussie batting line-up across all formats and will be eager to improve on a T20I record which reads just one half-century from 25 innings.
A strike-rate of 147 in those knocks shows that he is capable of getting on with it and the 30-year-old heads into the tournament following a strong IPL, which started with a bang before he made three ducks from his last four innings for beaten finalists Sunrisers Hyderabad.
His efforts for Sunrisers included 102 off just 41 balls against Royal Challengers Bengaluru and his tournament strike-rate was a stunning 191.55 - Head will need to have a big tournament if Australia are to be contenders.
David Warner - 3.50
David Warner is finally reaching the end of his outstanding international career and the big question is can he produce one more round of big performances for the Baggy Greens?
The veteran left-hander made just 168 runs from eight innings for Delhi Capitals at the IPL, with a strike-rate of 134.40 well below that of Head.
Warner has played in more than 100 T20Is and has made scores of 70, 22, 81 and 32 in his last four knocks, so there is plenty of reason to believe that he can deliver for his country one more time.
He needs just 22 runs to surpass former colleague Aaron Finch as the leading Australian runscorer in T20 international cricket.
Mitchell Marsh - 5.00
Mitchell Marsh goes into the tournament with plenty to ponder, not least making a full recovery from a hamstring strain which may well limit or even deny him the chance to play a part with the ball.
Being skipper piles even more responsibility on to the shoulders of Marsh, but he has a strong T20I record with the bat, making nine 50s from 52 innings to date and striking at a rate of 135.34.
He has not been dismissed for single figures in any of his last 12 knocks, a run which includes a career-best 92 not out against South Africa in August 2023.
It was Marsh, of course, who made a matchwinning unbeaten 77 in the 2021 T20 World Cup as Australia thrashed New Zealand by eight wickets to lift the trophy for the first time.
Glenn Maxwell - 6.00
Glenn Maxwell remains the most destructive batter in world cricket on his day, proved during the 2023 50-over World Cup triumph when made a truly astonishing 201 not out against Afghanistan, having also recorded a century against the Netherlands earlier on in the tournament.
He struggled for runs for Royal Challengers at the recent IPL, but two of the five T20I centuries he has made have come in his last seven innings - moving him level with Rohit Sharma on a record five career tons in the format.
Maxwell will never be the most consistent batter, but on his day he is capable of taking any attack apart and a T20I career strike-rate of 155.51 suggests that he will do so quickly when he is in the mood.
Other contenders
Marcus Stoinis - 9.00
Tim David - 10.00
Josh Inglis - 11.00
Cameron Green - 13.00
Matthew Wade - 17.00
