MELBOURNE, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Australia head coach Andrew McDonald put the blame for the team's humiliating T20 World Cup exit squarely on the players, rejecting criticism of their preparations and a "false narrative" that the nation is not taking the format seriously.
Australia crashed out of the group stage following losses to Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, triggering acrimony on the home front.
Former players and pundits have zeroed in on Australia's preparations for the tournament which saw members of the squad arrive late to a warmup series in Pakistan after prioritising the Big Bash League.
Australia were thumped 3-0 by Pakistan before failing to qualify for the World Cup's Super Eight phase.
McDonald dismissed criticism that Australia had not prioritised the tournament, saying the team had been "fully locked into (it) for a period of time".
"I have heard that sort of narrative that T20 World Cups don't matter to us," he told reporters.
"I think all that is a response to the performances of Australian cricket teams in these competitions.
"We won in 2021 and we haven't been as successful since then. The expectations on the Australian cricket team are high -- and rightfully so.
"But to sit back and say that we're prioritising other formats or other versions of the game and not the T20 World Cup is entirely false."
Australia were missing leading pace bowlers Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood due to injury but McDonald said the available players were good enough but had not performed.
"It shouldn't be about the players that we're missing," said McDonald, who is also a selector.
"It should be looking at the performances and we're disappointed in those. We need to own those and the critique is fair and reasonable."
Australia finish their tournament with a dead rubber against Oman in Pallekele later on Friday.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
