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Australia have dropped a series of surprises in their ODI and T20 squads for tours of England and Zimbabwe, with Tim Paine and Aaron Finch named as the two captains.
With the removal of former leaders Steve Smith and David Warner after the disastrous tour and ball-tampering scandal in South Africa, Cricket Australia have unveiled Paine as the ODI captain, but national selector Trevor Hohns warned the move is not yet permanent with a full-time skipper to be elected later – likely before the summer begins when Australia play three ODIs and a T20 against South Africa.
“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,” said Hohns.
» Full Australian cricket fixtures
Following five ODI matches against England, the T20 squad will take over for the one 20-over fixture there and the following tri-series involving Zimbabwe and Pakistan, with all matches set to be played in Harare. Finch has been named captain with a shock vice-captain in Alex Carey, but there is no suggestion that move won’t be a permanent one.
The ODI squad also features Carey, who has been selected after a strong summer, particularly in the Big Bash League.
“Alex is a very smart one-day player who can also bat anywhere in the order,” said Hohns.
“With Tim in the side Alex will be the backup wicketkeeper, but we believe his game is strong enough to play as a batter only.”
Nathan Lyon also makes his return to the ODI side, while D’Arcy Short has been named to pair with Finch and replace Warner at the top of the order. The selection of Lyon, along with that of Mitchell Swepson in the T20 squad, means Adam Zampa has been dropped from both sides.
“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,” said Hohns.
“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.
“Adam (Zampa) 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.”
Joining Swepson in the T20 squad will be fellow debutant Jack Wildermuth and young Western Australian quick Jhye Richardson, with Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc both out of action with injury. Nic Maddinson is the other surprise inclusion just days after being cut adrift by New South Wales at domestic level.
Australia’s ODI tour of England squad
Tim Paine (c), Aaron Finch (vc), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye
Australia T20 tour of England and Zimbabwe squad
Aaron Finch (c), Alex Carey (vc), 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
Tour of England
| Fixture | Venue | Date | Time | Broadcast |
| England vs Australia – 1st ODI | The Oval, London | June 13 | 10pm | Fox Sports |
| England vs Australia – 2nd ODI | Sophia Gardens, Cardiff | June 16 | 8pm | Fox Sports |
| England vs Australia – 3rd ODI | Trent Bridge, Nottingham | June 19 | 11pm | Fox Sports |
| England vs Australia – 4th ODI | Riverside Ground, Chester-Le-Street | June 21 | 11pm | Fox Sports |
| England vs Australia – 5th ODI | Old Trafford, Manchester | June 24 | 8pm | Fox Sports |
| England vs Australia – Only T20 | Edgbaston, Birmingham | June 28 | 3:30am | Fox Sports |
Tri-series vs Zimbabwe and Pakistan
| Fixture | Venue | Date | Time | Broadcast |
| Zimbabwe vs Pakistan | Harare Sports Club | July 1 | TBC | TBC |
| Pakistan vs Australia | Harare Sports Club | July 2 | TBC | TBC |
| Australia vs Zimbabwe | Harare Sports Club | July 3 | TBC | TBC |
| Zimbabwe vs Pakistan | Harare Sports Club | July 4 | TBC | TBC |
| Pakistan vs Australia | Harare Sports Club | July 5 | TBC | TBC |
| Australia vs Zimbabwe | Harare Sports Club | July 6 | TBC | TBC |
| Final | Harare Sports Club | July 8 | TBC | TBC |