David Warner, following his retirement from T20I cricket in June, posted a photo on Instagram in the with Jake Fraser-McGurk - "All yours now champion," the caption read. Warner, like many others in Australia, thought that Fraser-McGurk would transition seamlessly into Warner's spot at the top of the order in Australia's T20I and perhaps even ODI teams. Australian selectors remain unconvinced, however. Matthew Short is making his case to replace Warner with his 41 from 26 balls in a robust 86-run second-wicket stand with Travis Head in the first T20I against England. That partnership sealed the game away from England well before the end of the powerplay in Southampton. While the rise of Fraser-McGurk has been rapid, courtesy IPL, Short has been the most consistent Australian batter across formats in domestic cricket for the last two years. He has also been the best opener in the BBL during this time, winning consecutive MVPs. Short wasn't sure the chance to open in the series would fall his way, especially after he missed the series against Scotland owing to the birth of his first child. Now that he's back, he's eager to take his chance. Moved around in the batting order throughout his eight previous T20I innings, Short is now determined to stay at the top. Following Australia's 28-run win, Short said: "I only found out last night, Obviously, with Davey Warner out, you sort of know that the spot's opened up. But then Jake Fraser-McGurk has been playing the last few games in Scotland, so you never know where you sit. But I'm glad I sort of took that opportunity tonight and played my role to help the team with a win tonight. "It's a personal sort of goal of mine. I've been in and out of the side recently over the last 12-18 months. Now Dave is out, I'm really trying to take this opportunity and cement my spot in this side." Australia have immense competitiveness for opening slots in T20Is, with talent galore. Meanwhile, the selectors are building depth in the middle order and at the death overs. At the 2021 T20 World Cup, Australia's success was built around Marcus Stoinis and Matthew Wade, who had been honed into death-over specialists. Tim David has similarly taken shape as a finisher par excellence but has been off his game in the last couple of games. In the Caribbean in the recent T20 World Cup, Australia often faltered in the death overs against Afghanistan and India in matches that were there to be won. However, they performed excellently against England in Southampton to win a game in which they had raced to 86 for 1 only to throw it away to eventually reach a mediocre 179 all out. The selectors have been trying out players like Matthew Short in various positions to derive flexibility. He has been given opportunities in the middle order on tours to India and New Zealand and in ODI matches. It is, however, clear that Short goes about his work best at the top of the order. He averages 29.96 and strikes at 150.09 in T20s batting in the top three, way better than the average and strike rate whenever he bats lower down the order. His stats are even better in T20I matches, whereby he strikes at 186 when batting in the top three, compared to 126.66 whenever he bats lower down the order. This goes on to illustrate that he finds himself best and most effective as an opener, where he fits well with Travis Head in Australia's very aggressive powerplay. Matthew Short said: "It's a pretty clear game plan from the coaching staff. Just go out there with freedom and take the positive options. Trav and I sort of go into the games with that mindset." But that doesn't mean the selectors have made up their minds for good. Fraser-McGurk still possesses all the ingredients of a dynamic talent, yet even his IPL coach Ricky Ponting said he needs time fine-tuning his skills. The harsh reality was on display against Scotland in the series when he couldn't score a single run off 17 dot balls faced out of 23 deliveries across three innings. Whereas, Short scored off his first seven balls in the Southampton game, hitting a boundary only off his sixth delivery when he launched two sixes in succession off Reece Topley. Australia's captain Mitchell Marsh spoke recently about there being "no pressure" on Fraser-McGurk to succeed immediately on the international stage. Short is heaping some pressure of his own though, as his form has been good enough to give Australia options over their opening pair. Also Read | Harry Lee: The English Cricketer Who Made a Test Debut 15 Years After His 'Death'