Big Names Return As Cricket Australia Announce 23-Man Preliminary Squad For White-ball Tour Of West Indies
Updated - 17 May 2021, 01:18 PM
Steve Smith, David Warner, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Pat Cummins, all return to the Australian T20 side for the tour of West Indies after being rested from the New Zealand tour.
Aaron Finch’s side will tour West Indies for 5 T20Is and 3 ODIs from July 9 to July 24. Cricket Australia announced a 23-man preliminary squad which will later be trimmed down.
“This preliminary list gives selectors a solid base from which to choose a final touring party in the coming weeks while allowing players to prepare. The Australian men’s T20 squad has the ability to match it with any team in the world and the competition for places will be fierce, which is exactly what we are looking for,” Trevor Hohns, the national selector, said.
Considering that the T20 World Cup is scheduled in India – or could be moved to UAE – Australia has included a number of spinners in Ashton Agar and Adam Zampa, Mitchell Swepson, and Tanveer Sangha.
“Mitch Swepson has been in exceptional form across all three forms of the game. His Big Bash performances with the Heat have been superb, as was his bowling for Queensland.
“Tanveer Sanga was extremely impressive for the Thunder and we regard him very highly. While he didn’t play in New Zealand it was a great opportunity for a young bowler to be around the group. Along with the class of Adam and Ashton, we are very fortunate to have four highly capable spinners on this list,” Hohns added.
Alex Carey and Josh Phillipe, who made his Australia debut during the New Zealand series have been included. So are D’Arcy Short, Matthew Wade, and all-rounder Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Marsh, Moises Henriques, and Glenn Maxwell.
Marnus Labuschagne, Daniel Sams, and Cameron Green have not been included owing to different reasons. Labuschagne is currently playing in the County Championship for Glamorgan and won’t be able to fly to the West Indies due to “logistic complexities”, Cricket Australia said. Green and Sams have themselves opted out from the tour.
On the pace bowling front, Kane Richardson, Andrew Tye, Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith, and Jason Behrendorff will tussle for limited spots in the squad.
Australia has lost its last three T20I series – to New Zealand, India, and England – while Kieron Pollard’s team registered victory over Sri Lanka in their last T20I series.
Australia’s Preliminary squad for West Indies tour:
Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Kane Richardson, Jhye Richardson, Tanveer Sangha, D’Arcy Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.
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Pat Cummins Steve Smith West Indies Cricket Team
