Australian Cricket Team – Australia won their latest Test series in Pakistan and opted to make minimal changes for their tour of Sri Lanka. Photo: Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images
Australia’s fringe players were told that their hopes of a Test call-up for Sri Lanka were not over, despite the selectors naming a virtually unchanged squad for the tour. Australia confirmed on Friday that only Marcus Harris and Michael Nesser would be dropped from the players featured on their recent tour of Pakistan, with just 16 called up for the two tests in June and July.
Australian Cricket Team
That means Scott Boland has retained his place as Australia’s reserve, although he and Josh Hazlewood will fight for places if Australia select just two fasts in their squad to allow an extra spinner. But all hope is not lost for the likes of Harris and Glenn Maxwell, who will tour Sri Lanka as part of the Australia A and white ball national teams respectively.
Australian Cricket Team ‘doing The Nation Proud’
Chief selector George Bailey confirmed that the selectors are ready to bring in extra players if they dominate previous white-ball matches or two four-day matches for Australia A.
“We think the guys who did the job in Pakistan did a really good job after a really good summer,” said Bailey. “So there wasn’t much discussion among the others. [But the reduced squads after the pandemic] allow us to have that flexibility that if we need to add to the squad…
This would be of particular interest to the likes of Maxwell given his all-rounder status. The Victorian has had limited first-class experience in recent years but has played in four Test series across the subcontinent and scored centuries in India in 2017.
“Glenn had some success with a red ball in these kind of conditions,” said Bailey. “And if he turns out the lights, or if someone else does particularly well, there are always opportunities.”
Australian Cricket Team 2018 Hi Res Stock Photography And Images
One player who won’t get that opportunity is Will Pukowski, with selectors opting to reward A-team players this summer. Puchowski is now back in cricket after his repeated concussions, but will have to wait until next summer to build up his body after work.
Meanwhile, Adam Zampa will miss the tour for the birth of his first child, while Test captain Pat Cummins will be absent from the three-match T20 series. Ben McDermott is the most notable absentee, missing all five one-day games despite defending next year’s World Cup with centuries against Pakistan in March.
Test Crew: Pat Cummins (Captain), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner.
T20 Squadron: Aaron Finch (Captain), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jay Richardson, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner, Matthew Wade .
Selection Surprise As Opener Wins Australia Recall For West Indies Test Series
ODI Squadron: Aaron Finch (Captain), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson , David Warner.
Cast: Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Pete Handscomb, Aaron Hardy, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Henry Hunt, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhneman, Nick Maddinson, Todd Murphy, Josh Phillip, Matt Renshaw, Jay Richardson, Tanveer Sangha, Mark Stekitty. Steve Smith, Australia’s replacement captain, poses before a training session at Holkare Stadium, Indore, ahead of the Third Test. Photo: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images
As Australia headed to India this year to compete for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, one thing they counted on was experience. David Warner and Steve Smith would lead the batting on their third Test tour of the country after 22 IPL seasons between them. Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc could not boast of such IPL records, but they will also be making their third test tour. Patrick Cummins would lead the team after returning to Test cricket in 2017, waking Indian bowlers with bouncy shots on a dormant Ranchi lane.
The best plans of mice and men. Starc started the tour injured, depriving Australia of the benefits of his reverse swing and lower order runs. Warner got off to a bad start before Mohammed Siraj broke his arm and was sent home. Meanwhile, Cummins started the trip knowing that his mother was sick, not knowing that he would have to leave after the second test when she went into hospice care.
Australian Men’s Cricket Team
The seriousness of the situation showed the absurdity of some complaints about the team’s results on the pitch. Meanwhile, the ride continues and tourists should find a way back when the third Test kicks off in Indore on Wednesday. Starc is finally ready to play, albeit with some limitations still on the damaged finger of his bowling hand.
Ditto for versatile wunderkind Cameron Greene, who at number six joins a pack full of Indian newcomers: Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey. Even Usman Khawaja, with much experience elsewhere, hit for the first time in India. Peter Handscomb is effectively the opposite of Khawaja, having already produced his best performances on two tours of India, while playing just a dozen times elsewhere.
These are the players tasked with reversing a terrible hitting rotation. Australian teams have been knocked out 76 times in India. 91 in Nagpur to start this series is the lowest score ever. Delhi’s 113 to lose a winning spot is sixth on this list. Only twice in Test history have Australia lost nine wickets cheaper than that day in India’s capital – Cape Town’s infamous 9 for 21 in 2011, and with another 47 declarations in the 2005 victory over a short-lived World XI in Sydney.
What Australia really needs above all is Smith’s return to racing. Perhaps his temporary return as captain can help him click. His 2017 tour was one of his best: Alastair Cook is the only other visiting captain to match Smith’s three centuries in a series in India. Recapturing that peak is unrealistic, but something this good could do the trick.
Steve Smith Steps In To Captain Australia With Pat Cummins Ruled Out Of Adelaide Test
“It usually gets the best of me, I’m excited to lead this week,” he said before the match. “I know these conditions well. It’s like my second home playing here. Having played a lot in India I understand the ins and outs of the game and what wickets are likely to do. I can’t wait.”
The batting order changes seem obvious: Replace Warner to join Cavaja at the top of the order, Labuschagne and Smith form his middle block, Handscomb for five to replace an underperforming Matthew Renshaw, and Green with Carey to round things out.
Bowling is more complicated. Smith mentioned that Green’s inclusion opens up options for extra batsman, retaining three spinners, or for added “airspeed”. None of these seem likely. Green as the fourth player will lighten the offense. Lyon worked well with junior spin Todd Murphy and Matt Kuhneman in Delhi, but Murphy did not participate in practice the day before the test, suggesting his lateral strain remains an issue. The airspeed would suggest that the fast no-limit Lance Morris was hit in India, but Morris spent the same practice as a net player sending off-spin.
All this means that the likely setup will be Scott Boland, who did well in Nagpur, joining Starc, Green, Lyon and Kunnemann, unless there is a late decision to add Mitchell Swepson’s leg-spin to the Lyon breaks and Kuhneman orthodox left hand. The Indore field is empty at both ends, but the likelihood of a slow turn makes movement unlikely. As has been the case on this tour, injuries and absences have made most of Australia’s selection decisions for them. Travis Head and Pat Cummins promoted to lead roles in Sri Lanka series in absence of Marsh and Hazlewood
Batting Legend Rips Into Suryakumar Yadav After Australia Disaster
Travis Head and Pat Cummins have been named vice-captains for Australia’s upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka, starting on Thursday in Brisbane.
Head, who has played in Australia’s last six Tests since making his UAE debut in October, is the youngest captain in South Australia’s Sheffield Shield, while Cummins has quickly emerged as an integral and increasingly senior member of a tests that is changing a lot.
The two replace the injured Josh Hazlewood, who is out of the series with a back injury, and Mitchell Marsh, who was dropped from the squad after a poor series against India.
“The Australian board has endorsed the National Selection Committee’s recommendation that Travis Head and Patrick Cummins be appointed as vice-captains for the two test matches against Sri Lanka,” said coach Trevor Hohns.
Australian Cricket Players
“I would like to congratulate Travis and Patrick on being named series vice-captains, it is a fitting reward for their professionalism and dedication to managing the Australian men’s test team’s elite standards.
“Travis