Andrew McDonald is confident that Mitchell Marsh will be ready to bowl at the start of the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Marsh joined a group of members of the Australian squad, who are not involved in the IPL, for two training camps ahead of the three-day tournament in Brisbane in the next two weeks before the team heads to the Caribbean on May 25.

Marsh wasn’t expected to start camp this week, but his hamstring has improved enough for him to hit the nets over the past two days. But McDonald confirmed that he will not be ready to throw the ball until it is very close to the tournament.

“You probably won’t see him play football for the next few weeks here,” McDonald told reporters at Allan Border Field on Tuesday. “It’ll probably happen a week before we leave. Then he’ll be able to step it up when we get there. We’ll be able to pick times during the tournament where he’ll be useful. With football We’ve got all-round depth in the squad, which gives us good cover anyway.

“[His recovery was] perhaps slower than expected behind the muscle. But we have a lot of time now that he has been ruled out of the IPL. The first game is just a month away. So enough time for him to prepare. But it’s nice to see the captain on the park.”

McDonald said there was no concern over Marsh’s absence from training for the past two months as Australia will have practice matches ahead of their opening match against Oman.

“There’s no real concern about the fitness of the game,” McDonald said. “We have a few practice games when we get to Trinidad during support. So you’ll probably get a lot of game opportunities. And if not, we’ll be able to replicate that in practice, which our coaching staff. They’re great.”

Marsh, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Ashton Agar and Adam Zampa are the only members of Australia’s 15-man squad not currently in the IPL and all five took part in the first two days of practice in Brisbane along with Aaron Hardie, Tanveer. Sangha, Matt Short, Matt Kuhnemann, Xavier Bartlett and Marnus Labuschagne. The latter is preparing to go to England where he will have a regional competition with Glamorgan and he is the only player practicing with the red ball and the others are part of the waiting group as it may be places reserved for the World Cup.

McDonald confirmed that Australia could take one place but they are yet to decide what type of player they need to secure a 15-man squad.

“There are decisions we have to make,” McDonald said. “We have seen that other parts of the world have four episodes. That will be the same thing [chair of selectors] George Bailey will be bringing us together in the next few weeks and we will be putting the final touches on that team. We’re going to take the reserve right now and it looks like one reserve.”

McDonald was under pressure from the Australian squad after in-form youngster Jake Fraser-McGurk was left out of the squad. Australia will have just one player in their squad under the age of 28, with Cameron Green turning 25 before the start of the tournament. Nathan Ellis, Tim David and Inglis are the only other players in the squad under the age of 30.

But the coach supports his old players to give the platform to the big stage again.

“There’s been a conversation about the age profile of our team in every way,” McDonald said. “I’m a big believer that you never know when the end will be. And a lot of people write those players off because of their age.

“We feel that in the last 12 months, especially in the white ball area, we have given a lot of opportunities to other players. Then we went back to the World Cup and the players we know can play on that stage. There is no doubt that they are players who have been there and done it and are in good form and you look at David Warner in the games Australia’s past 15, his record is very good. Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, those players who are probably the captain of the team are still playing at the international level and that goes a long way.