Moises Henriques, James Pattinson and Pat Cummins have been named in the Australian squad, while the solid Peter Handscomb, George Bailey and Cameron White have been overlooked by the selectors for the Champions Trophy slated to start from the 1st June in England.
Australia are placed alongside England, New Zealand and Bangladesh in the Group A of the league and play against New Zealand, Bangladesh and England on the 2nd, 5th and 10th June respectively.
The Steven Smith-led Australian Team has the explosive David Warner as an automatic choice for the opening slot. Chris Lynn, who has been in roaring form ever in the Big Bash League, has been selected and will probably open the Australian innings with David Warner. Needless to say, David Warner and Chris Lynn will be the most dangerous opening pair in the tournament. Steven Smith, the extravagantly talented Australian skipper, will add tremendous value to the batting lineup.
Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell will add immense power to the middle order. John Hastings, who has been sizzling form ever since he came back from the injury, has been awarded a place too. He is a fast-medium bowling all rounder. Travis Head, the explosive right-hander, has found his spot too. Matthew Wade is the automatic choice for the WK/Batsman slot and Marcus Stoinis, the middle-order batting all-rounder has been selected too, and could be an important part of the squad, considering his batting and bowling skills.
James Faulkner has been overlooked from an ICC Tournament for the first time since 2011, and it is one of the bigger changes in the selection. Anyway, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins will form a formidable pace attack and will be impactful in England where wickets assist pace and swing, so Faulkner will hardly be missed. It’s debatable whether Henriques should have been preferred over James Faulkner, as he has not had a lot of experience when compared to Faulkner, who appeared a lot more regularly in the side. Moreover, Faulkner is a more than a handy batsman in the lower-order and can hit the big ones consistently. Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell will assist Adam Zampa, the leg-spinner, with their part-time off-spin.
Cricket Australia is closely watching the injured Mitchell Starc and Chris Lynn. While Chris Lynn injured his shoulder during the ongoing IPL, the same shoulder for the third time, Mitchell Starc got a stress fracture in his right foot, also in India, but during the high-voltage Australia vs India Test Series. Both of them are being watched closely and should get fit in time for the Champions Trophy.
Like South Africa, Australia has one of the strongest Teams for the Champions Trophy. Australia’s extraordinary pace attack will give them an edge, though.
Squad :
1. Steven Smith. (Captain)
2. David Warner.
3. Pat Cummins.
4. John Hastings.
5. Chris Lynn.
6. Aaron Finch.
7. Josh Hazelwood.
8. Moises Henriques.
9. Travis Head.
10. James Pattinson.
11. Glenn Maxwell.
12. Adam Zampa.
13. Matthew Wade (Wicket-Keeper).
14. Marcus Stoinis.
15. Mitchell Starc.
