Illnesses to wicketkeeper Tim Paine and bowler Josh Hazlewood have opened the door for a pair of one-day international debuts against England at the Gabba on Friday.
Hazlewood has been sent home to Sydney to recover from a virus, while Paine continued to struggle with gastro at training on Thursday and isn’t certain of starting.
After a maiden Big Bash hundred for the Adelaide Strikers on Wednesday night, wicketkeeper Alex Carey has been flown into camp as Australia look to level the five-match series at 1-1.
Rested from the series-opening loss on Sunday, Hazlewood was set to replace Pat Cummins before he got sick.
Already with the squad, Jhye Richardson is tipped to make his ODI debut alongside second-gamer Andrew Tye and Mitchell Starc.
English bowler James Anderson, who has retired from short-form international cricket, ridiculed the depth in Australia’s bowling stocks during the Test series.
Australian opener Aaron Finch said it would be a chance for the side to prove that wrong in the absence of Australia’s highest-ranked ODI bowler Hazlewood and leading Ashes wicket-taker Cummins.
“Absolutely; AJ (Tye) making his debut bowled beautifully in a pretty difficult time when Jason Roy was on fire and Joe Root was playing well,” Finch said.
“The way he held his nerve was really impressive in that middle part.
“He (Richardson) can bowl fast, he can swing it, has got a couple of variations of slower balls, he’s someone who thinks about his bowling quite a bit for such a young guy who has that raw pace,” Finch said.
“I don’t think there’s a lack of depth at all.”
Carey will join the squad on Thursday and Finch backed him to continue his good form if rewarded with a first international cap.
“To come out this year when there was a lot of talk about the Ashes keeping spot and who’s going to play, the way he put his hand up and has continued to do so for such a young guy is really impressive,” Finch said.
“It (illness) does cause a little bit of angst among the group; it causes separation because guys don’t want to hang around each other anymore in case they are spreading it on.
“But the guys that are there to come in and potentially take their spot if they need are in great form if they need.”
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