Australia has omitted key pacers Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood from its squads for the upcoming home white-ball series against England, as the selectors look ahead to the ICC World Test Championship series against New Zealand and India.
The Aussies will play eight white-ball fixtures against England, three ODIs and five T20Is, starting on 13 November. Fellow pacer Nathan Ellis will miss the ODI component in Perth as he continues his recovery from a side strain he picked up against South Africa in September. He is included in the T20I squad.
The squads also feature a host of fresh faces. Mahli Beardman and Oliver Peake, both former stars of the ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup, are in the 14-player ODI squad alongside young all-rounders Jack Edwards and Liam Scott. Nikhil Chaudhary, Joel Davies, Lachlan Shaw and Sam Harper are among the newcomers in the T20I squad.
Test stars rested for T20Is
Test stars Travis Head, Matthew Renshaw, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis and Cooper Connolly will play in the ODIs but skip the T20I component. That leaves plenty of new faces competing for places against Australia’s oldest rival.
Selectors back the new faces
Australia selection chair George Bailey said the matches give players who have had recent opportunities a chance to show their ability against strong opposition.
“These ODI and T20 matches provide several players, many of whom have had opportunities on recent tours, with a great chance to further demonstrate their ability against very strong opposition,” Bailey said.
On the ODI squad, Bailey said: “Liam Scott returns to the ODI squad and we are excited by the fact he learns from each opportunity and have seen him grow his game on the back of strong performances over the past 12-18 months.”
He praised Beardman’s form for Australia A. “Mahli Beardman’s recent performances for Australia A were impressive and we are incredibly excited for his return to the national team across the ODI and T20 formats. We think he can continue to develop into an all-format player across the coming years.”
Bailey also backed the T20 newcomers. “Lachie Shaw is a highly talented cricketer we also think will develop quickly and has a powerful game that will impact in the T20 format,” he said. “Sam Harper has performed strongly in domestic cricket. He is in a great place with his game right now and is executing his style of cricket consistently, across all formats.”
Bailey said Jake Fraser-McGurk and Mitch Owen return to the T20 side, and their ball-striking could set Australia apart in the shorter formats. “They are good examples of players who have had an opportunity at the International level and have continued working on their game from what they learnt from those experiences,” he said.
Squads and schedule
Australia ODI squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Mahli Beardman, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Jack Edwards, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Oliver Peake, Matthew Renshaw, Liam Scott, Adam Zampa
Australia T20I squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Mahli Beardman, Nikhil Chaudhary, Tim David, Joel Davies, Jack Edwards, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sam Harper, Spencer Johnson, Mitch Owen, Lachlan Shaw, Adam Zampa
ODI fixtures:
- First ODI: 13 November, Perth
- Second ODI: 15 November, Adelaide
- Third ODI: 18 November, Hobart
T20I fixtures:
- First T20I: 21 November, Melbourne
- Second T20I: 24 November, Gold Coast
- Third T20I: 27 November, Brisbane
- Fourth T20I: 29 November, Sydney
- Fifth T20I: 2 December, Canberra