Australia’s T20 World Cup hopes have been jolted by a shock defeat to Zimbabwe and growing injury woes -- but stand-in captain Travis Head insists his side should lean on their 2023 blueprint to get out of a hole.

After the 23-run loss that leaves Australia needing wins against Sri Lanka and Oman to stay alive, Head was defiant at the post-match presentation.

“We said a little bit about ’23 … navigating tournament play, which is difficult,” Head said, referencing Australia’s ODI World Cup charge that year.

Head pointed out that many in his dressing room were part of that World Cup-winning 2023 campaign.

“A few guys were here in India that navigated through [the ODI World Cup] and we ended up on the right side of it. So we’ll go back to the blueprint … we’ve got two more games to win.”

With injuries mounting -- Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Marsh all missing significant time -- former skipper Steven Smith has been called into the squad as cover and could be added officially.

Head refused to panic, stressing belief in his squad despite the setback.

“We’ve seen a lot of tight games. All the teams are very good. But we’ve found ourselves in this position before.”

The reminder of 2023 was no accident -- Head was a leading figure in that World Cup run, and his confidence in history could be central to Australia’s bid to reach the Super Eights.