Even though he failed to take his side over the line in the first T20I against England at The Ageas Bowl, Australia is willing to give all-rounder Marcus Stoinis an extended run to help him evolve as a finisher in the mould of recently-retired Indian great MS Dhoni, said vice-captain Pat Cummins.

Batting at No. 5, Stoinis scored 23 not out off 18 balls but the visitors fell two runs short of England’s 163-run target in the T20I series opener.

See Also: Aaron Finch defends Australia's middle-order after painful loss in first T20I 

Australia has a lot of quality players who bat in the top-order for their domestic T20 sides but the numero uno side is still searching for a batsman in the middle-order who can finish off games.

"It's something we've spoken about for exactly that reason — they're all the best players when they go back to playing domestic comps," Cummins was quoted as saying by Sydney Morning Herald.

"You could argue that the middle-order role is one of the hardest in any cricket team. That's what we've identified, we've got to give guys a go. Someone like MS Dhoni, he was one of the best in the world because he played 300-400 ODI games. You saw during this week's practice games we gave a lot of guys a go in that."

Cummins further added that Australia has identified the roles and wants to give the players enough opportunities to cement their places.

"We know it's not going to happen overnight. That's been a common theme that selectors and Finchy have spoken about: we'll identify roles and give them a long run in that.

"I think we've got the right squad, the right players, it's about getting plenty of games into everyone now," the pace spearhead said.

Cummins felt “strange” playing in front of empty stands during the first T20I in Southampton.

"I don't think it made any difference to the performance but for sure it was strange," he said.

"Until Starcy's bowling the first over and you can hear a pin drop it's weird. After a couple of overs we got into it.

"Just odd unless we create the noise in the field there is absolutely no noise happening. Bit of an adjustment but everyone's played enough cricket.

"I don't think the crowd makes too much of a difference a lot of the time but it is certainly different here in England and not hearing some of the songs."

The second T20I between Australia and England will be played at the same venue on Sunday (September 6).