The present Australian Test captain Tim Paine has been elected as new ODI captain of Australian cricket team for the upcoming bilateral ODI series on the England soil. In the addition, Aaron Finch will lead the T20I side that will tour in England and Zimbabwe (for tri-series).
On Tuesday, Cricket Australia (CA) announced the ODI squad for 5-match bilateral ODI series against the hosts England and the T20I squad for the one-off match against the hosts England and the following T20I tri-series on the Zimbabwe soil (Zimbabwe, Australia and Pakistan).
The Australian cricket board has decided that wicketkeeper Tim Paine will lead the ODI side while top-order batsman Aaron Finch will lead the T20I side in their upcoming tour. Finch has been selected as the vice-captain of ODI squad while 26-year-old wicketkeeper Alex Carey will be the deputy captain of the T20I squad.
However, CA also clarified that they have not elected the permanent ODI captain yet.
CA chief selector Trevor Hohns said in the press conference, “Tim is a strong leader and will captain the side for this series, supported by Aaron. A decision on a permanent one-day captain will be made in due course.”
Post ball-tampering controversies, it was the first time when CA announced any full-member squad for the international series.
Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon has returned to the ODI squad who has played his last ODI in August 2016. 24-year-old left-arm spinner Aston Agar has been also selected in both formats while leg-spinner Adam Zampa has been omitted from the limited-overs squad due to poor performances.
Speaking about Lyon, Hohns said, “Nathan is our number one off-spinner and has excelled with the red ball, however, he is not new to white ball cricket and deserves his chance to push for World Cup selection. England potentially have a number of left-handers in their side and we look forward to seeing what he can produce with the white-ball in English conditions.
Hohns also spoke on Adam Zampa’s exclusion from the squad as he said, “Adam hasn’t performed to the level we would have liked in recent times and we see this as a good opportunity for other spinning options to press their case ahead of the cricket World Cup.”
While Shaun Marsh has been recalled in the ODI side, Chris Lynn and Usman Khawaja have been excluded from both squads. Wicketkeeper Alex Carey, who is the new T20I vice-captain, has earned the national team call-up for both squads.
24-year-old leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson is the surprise inclusion in the T20I squad along with another uncapped all-rounder Jack Wildermuth. Also, the opening-batsman Nic Maddinson has earned the call-up in the T20I squad.
Speaking about Jack Wildermuth, the national T20 selector Mark Waugh said, “The NSP hold Jack in high regard as young player on the rise. He has shown excellent all-round skills at the first-class level, particularly with the ball in the Big Bash. We look forward to seeing what he can produce at the international level.”
Australia will play 5-match ODI series and one-off T20I against the hosts England which will begin on June 13. Later, Australia will feature in the T20I tri-series in their Zimbabwe tour (Zimbabwe, Australia and Pakistan) which will begin on July 1.
Australian pacers Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins are expected to be available during their next Test series against Pakistan in UAE in October.
On their fitness, the CA physiotherapist David Beakley stated, “Mitchell is going to undertake a prolonged rehabilitation period for his tibial bone stress injury and we are aiming for a return to play for the Pakistan Test Series in the UAE.
“Pat is still recovering from a lumbar bone stress injury, the good news is that it has not progressed to a fracture but he still requires a period of rehabilitation with an aim for him to return to play for the Pakistan Test series along with Starc.”
Australian ODI squad: Tim Paine (c), Aaron Finch (vc), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Josh Hazelwood, Travis Head, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye
Australian T20I squad: Aaron Finch (c), Alex Carey (vc and wk), Ashton Agar, Travis Head, Nic Maddinson, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Andrew Tye, Jack Wildermuth
