The Australian Twenty20 side has been named for the upcoming matches against India, with a number of changes made by the selectors.
The biggest change to the side is the dropping of captain Cameron White, who has consistently failed to make big scores during the Big Bash League.
Journeyman Brad Hogg has been recalled to the side after an outstanding tournament for the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League.
The 40-year old Hogg has made the move from Perth club cricket to the Australian T20 side in just seven weeks, leading the Scorchers attack. Hogg has taken 12 wickets at 13.50 in eight games.
Chairman of selectors John Inverarity said Hogg had presented a compelling case for selection.
“Brad Hogg’s bowling has been outstanding and his case for inclusion was compelling,” he said.
“He has had a real impact in the BBL in recent weeks.”
Tasmanian skipper George Bailey has been named captain, with Dave Warner the vice-captain.
Inverarity said the squad refelected Australia’s need for change in the shortest format of the game after slumping to sixth in the T20 world rankings.
“The National Selection Panel has been discussing this T20 squad for about six weeks and has unanimously decided on the squad, the captain and the vice-captain,” Inveraity said.
“The selectors consider this to be a very well balanced T20 squad and look forward to the team acquitting itself very well.
“The NSP has the T20 World Cup to be held in Sri Lanka in September to the fore in its mind with these selections.
“When selecting any cricket team there are 11 spaces on the team sheet and it is the intention of those selecting the team to name the 11 players who will together form the team that will perform best. It is a very simple strategy.
“The T20 squad is a strong all-round team. It has batting depth with a good mix of left and right handers, bowlers who have an abundance of specific T20 skills, excellent fielders, plenty of energy and assertiveness and excellent leadership.
“The NSP is confident the team will acquit itself very well.”
Team to play India in 2 T20s: Bailey (C), Warner (VC), Birt, Christian, Doherty, Faulkner, Finch, Hogg, D.Hussey, Lee, M.Marsh, S.Marsh, McKay, Wade.
The two T20 Internationals v India are schedule for the 1st of February and the 3rd of February in Sydney and Melbourne respectively.
Jim Jackson
Guest
Oh where, oh where is my main, the wild one.. Shaun Tait, i want 160 kph again.. we want broken ribs!
Pankaj rathod
Guest
I think according to me 11 man's squard of australia should as follow David warner Shane watson george bailey shaun marsh david hussey Camroon white matthew wade Pat cummine Ben hilfenhaus brad hogg micheal johnson Bcoz 7 man should present to make big score And 5 boller are sufficient And hussey is also in hand to boll in captain's hand.......DX PANKU
Pankaj rathod
Guest
according to me australia's t 20 board should make his team are as fallow 1. Shane watson (c) 2: david warner 3. Shaun marsh 4. david hussey (vc) 5. matthew made (wk) 6. Cameroon white 7. steve smith 8: daniel christian 9. michael johnson 10. Brett lee 11. Doug bollinger
lou
Guest
Apart from Bailey and Shaun Marsh - who had a brilliant innings in the only BBL match he played - they are pretty much in form. You picked one player to say I'm wrong. That's one player out of how many: 15? Steve Smith hasn't done a great deal in his T20 career for Aus - all this talk about him contributing is so much fluff, does he ever put in match-winning or saving performances for Aus? I can't think of any., that's why he is not selected and rightly so. They already know what he offers so what's wrong with giving someone else a shot?
jameswm
Guest
And Nevill has kept and batted better than Haddin. The team is weaker when Haddin's available, though for the IPL the Sixers can bring in Watson, Starc and Cummins.
jameswm
Guest
Geez I know McKay bowls a lot of slower balls, but no room for Starc? The opposition haven't been able to get bat on him, and he's got three wickets in an over in both the games he's played. He's the best quick I've seen in the T20, Lee 2nd. They're a class above the rest. Bailey is bloody lucky. He's been close for a while, but he's done nothing this season. And picking him means guys like Finch, MMarsh etc miss out. He might be a good captain, but Smith showed that a youngster can captain, and with Warner there, he's the obvious one to take over the team. SOK is a better bat and fielder than Doherty (by a fair margin). If he has a better bowling record, how did they pick Doherty? I've got no issue with Hoggy getting picked - thoroughly deserved and shows they are picking the best players for the team now with less agendas - though the Bailey selection runs against that a bit. Smith unlucky - he has contributed with the bat, ball and in the field just about every time he's been involved. Still, not a bad XI they'll put on the field: 1. Warner 2. SMarsh 3. DHussey 4. Birt 5. Bailey 6. Christian (MMarsh) 7. Wade 8. Faulkner 9. Lee 10. McKay/Doherty (I'd rather see Starc) 11. Hogg
Chris
Guest
Sure, he's a good captain, but as a cricketer he's out of form. As has been pointed out elsewhere, good captaincy is useless if the players can't perform as directed. Smith should have been in the team, and you could make a good argument for installing him as captain. He's led the Sixers well when he's had the chance. Much better than Haddin...
Chris
Guest
No, they haven't picked players in form. Bailey is one such example. And 'Steve Smith is a good non-selection'?!? What a bizarre statement. Smith has been in much better form in the BBL than Bailey.
Jason
Guest
I guess this team shows what the selectors really think of T20 - a bit of a freak show. George Bailey is the first person to make his Australian debut as captain since Dave Gregory.
Giz
Guest
Loved the fact that tassie cricket is finally producing some talent. 5 in the squad( Bailey, Faulkner, Birt, Doherty, wade- originally from tas)
boonboon
Roar Pro
You can tell most people on here are traditional fans and hence think about this as a traditional cricket team and not a 2020 team - no issue with that because that's how we've been brought up and it's the wat selectors have thought until now . They have though relalised a team in balance in 2020 requires very different skills to other types of the game. Hence they have picked George bailey the best captain in Australia because captaincy as a kill is more important in 2020 then in any other form of the game
dkiwi
Guest
What about Quiney>?
Disco
Roar Guru
Ponting's hunch that Doherty should play in the Ashes was certainly inspired.
aussie1st
Roar Pro
Bailey next best captain long term? He is just over one year younger than Clarke, I don't see how he is the long term captain at all. Is Bailey even in our best T20 come World Cup time? Mike Hussey slotted into the World T20 last time round without playing T20I in over a year and no that wasn't because we didn't have any T20I matches. We played 6 in that period. Without a doubt Mike is in our best 11 and so to is Watson, so where exactly does our new specialist captain fit in the side?
Disco
Roar Guru
Quite. Surely better to give a younger spinner a go with a view to getting experience for ODI cricket.
aussie1st
Roar Pro
If it wasn't a World T20 year then I'd be annoyed they picked Hogg. But since it is, I have no problem picking the best spinner.
Red Kev
Guest
Don't be facetious buddy. There is a difference between correctly filling a team roster with X batsmen, Y bowlers and a wicketkeeper and "team balance".
Matt F
Guest
Bailey started the BBL batting at 3 and didn't do much there so let's cut the "but he batted at 7" nonsense right there shall we? He was batting at 7 because he failed at 3. In his past 3 seasons he's made one BBL fifty. If we're picking a player simply because he's a decent captain then why not stick with White? He's the incumbent captain, Victoria were the most succesful T20 state under his reign and he was Bailey's BBL captain this season..... "He's been in great form this year just not BB." Apart from the fact that his Ryobi Cup form has been awful as well what does Shield form have to do with T20 form? If T20 form isn't relevant to being picked in the T20 team then what is??? Does Travis Birts' T20 form have any influence on his ability as a potential test batsmen? No. So why does Bailey's Shield form have any baring on whether he's a goon enough T20 batsmen? Their entirely different formats with entirely different skill requirements. Which 3 players from the 14 man squad have done worse then Bailey this BBL season and should miss out instead of him?
AndyMack
Guest
Our best team doesn't include George Bailey, no matter how you want to dress it up.
jamesb
Guest
"Bailey (C), Warner (VC), Birt, Christian, Doherty, Faulkner, Finch, Hogg, D.Hussey, Lee, M.Marsh, S.Marsh, McKay, Wade" not a bad side I'm looking forward to watching some of the younger players like M.Marsh, Faulkner and Wade T20 is interesting. You can have old players as well. If your a bowler, you only bowl 4 overs and it does prolong the careers of Hogg and Lee.