Ashton Turner is a strong chance to debut today, while D’Arcy Short will get what could be his last opportunity to audition for a World Cup spot when Australia start their five-match ODI series in India.
With in-form batsman Shaun Marsh unavailable for the first ODI due to the birth of his child and Peter Handscomb looking set to keep, that means both Turner and Short will likely slot into the Australian top six today.
Turner has played five T20Is across the past two years without making any impact and has earned his unlikely ODI call-up due to impressive form in the BBL, with 630 runs at 31 in the last two seasons.
The 26-year-old is a classic ‘gut-feel’ pick by the selectors considering that, in the past five years, he has scored just the solitary half-century in List A cricket.
I do think Turner has the ability, power and range of strokes to eventually become a good 50-over batsman. But it is remarkable he is in the ODI squad months out from the World Cup given how little he has achieved in this format.
Short, on the other hand, has won his World Cup audition on the back of commanding performances in the State 50-over competition. In the past two JLT Cups, Short has pounded 536 runs at 77 with a lightning strike rate of 135.
It is his ability to get after bowlers in the Power Play which will most appeal to Australia, who are well aware they’ll need to set and chase some big totals to defend their World Cup trophy.
Short has been a fixture of the Australian T20 side over the past year, making 592 runs at 32 with a strike rate of 121. But he is largely untested in ODI cricket, having played only four matches and batted in his favoured position as an opener in only two of those games.
Short is often criticised for his play against spin, but he has clearly improved against the slow bowlers over the past year. While he undoubtedly remains a work in progress in that regard, it is his ability to counter elite quicks that will decide whether he gets a World Cup gig.
Most ODI teams bowl pace throughout the 10-over Power Play, and Short is clearly more comfortable playing spin once he is well into his innings. While he has monstered quicks in the JLT Cup, it is another thing altogether to consistently clatter star international pacemen.
Today he will have to tackle the world’s best white ball fast bowler in Jasprit Bumrah, as well as canny swing bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Succeeding against that pair in India is arguably the biggest challenge that exists for an ODI opening batsman. So if Short can thrive it may be the tipping point in his international career.
If he struggles, though, the selectors may well put a line through his name and audition other World Cup contenders in the upcoming five-match ODI series against Pakistan in the UAE.
Australia’s best XI for first ODI against India in Hyderabad
1. Aaron Finch (c)
2. D’Arcy Short
3. Usman Khawaja
4. Peter Handscomb (wk)
5. Marcus Stoinis
6. Ashton Turner
7. Glenn Maxwell
8. Nathan Coulter-Nile
9. Jhye Richardson
10. Adam Zampa
11. Nathan Lyon
Reserves
12. Pat Cummins
13. Jason Behrendorff
14. Andrew Tye
15. Alex Carey
16. Shaun Marsh (unavailable for first ODI)
Rugbyrah
Roar Rookie
That is the best 10 plus Finch.
dungerBob
Roar Rookie
No, not at all, and it's a bit disingenuous to misinterpret what I've said that way. I would rather pick the ODI side on domestic one day form but we can't do that because we don't have a decent domestic one day competition. The selectors are more or less forced to go on T20 form as a result. That's what I meant. If you choose to infer otherwise there's not much I can do about that.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
"Many will probably disagree but I reckon BBL form is about all we’ve got to go on." Let's extend that logic ... it suggests that when Australia haven't play a Test for 4-5 months (which happens often) you'd rather pick Test players based on their recent ODI form than on what they did in Tests 4-5 months ago.
dungerBob
Roar Rookie
Fair enough, but at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I can't see how the JLT Cup can tell us much at all about 50 over form. It's played so early in the season and only seems to run for about a fortnight or so. Maybe that's not quite right but it was so long ago (Oct wasn't it?) that I can barely remember it. Many will probably disagree but I reckon BBL form is about all we've got to go on.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Batting average of 27 in all 50 over cricket is simply not good enough.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
No Short and they pick Carey!? Totally bizarre. Including Turner on the basis of T20 form? Certainly no other justification. But Short is way better at both T20 and 50 over. Simply unbelievable. I now have to hope yet another weirdly selected Australian player doesn’t succeed in the short term for the sake of long term success.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
Gotch has been good in the BBL but he has a poor record in 50-over cricket as a batsman, averaging just 24 at a dawdling strike rate of 73. I'm really not a fan of picking ODI players purely on their BBL records, like has happened with Turner. This is particularly so for batsman given the batting-friendly conditions in the JLT Cup - if you can't make runs in the JLT Cup it's very hard to see how you'll succeed in ODIs on bigger grounds against better bowlers under much more pressure.
Rob
Guest
I know he’s a very unlucky cricketer with so much talent and potential. I guess Sri Lanka are rubbish at Test level especially on the road? India are not a strong T20 team in home conditions I suppose. I can’t work out the problem Ronan. I need an expert opinion.
Rob
Guest
Maybe he should open? Can you explain the problem with his batting excellence and Australia consistently losing? Australia has won some Tests and limited overs cricket of late and Shaun wasn’t in the mix? The Scorchers went well on his return also from memory.
dungerBob
Roar Rookie
I know he's not in the squad but I reckon Seb Gotch could do the w/k, lower order hitting job. He has remarkable power for such a little bloke. Dumping D'Arcy Short after 4 games is a strange decision imo. I can't recall anybody who's just waltzed in and presented iron clad numbers after just 4 games. We are crying out for a top order enforcer and he's got the domestic form. To say yeah but it's only domestic form is tantamount to admitting our domestic comp is rubbish wouldn't you say. .. The whole damn thing seems such a mess to me.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
Well Cricinfo is now predicting Maxwell will bat at 5 ahead of Turner and Carey so that should save the drama.
AREH
Roar Guru
As opposed to top order teammates getting out cheaply? He's still a serious white-ball gun I'm afraid.
Diamond Jackie
Roar Rookie
If Turner bats higher than Maxwell I’ll simply give up on this game. For goodness sake MAXIMISE MAXY’S time in the middle!
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
You're right Rob, Shaun Marsh's frequent ton-scoring is a really holding Australia back.
Rob
Guest
Shaun Marsh scores a ton and Australia get beaten repeatedly. He bats slowly for his first 60 deliveries and racks up dot balls through the middle overs. He actually at times helps create score board pressure on those batting with him. His presence in the field is none existent. Chances of S. Marsh creating or preforming a run out is zero.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
Shaun Marsh has hit 4 tons in his last 9 ODIs!
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
Starts at 7pm Australian EST
AREH
Roar Guru
Definitely far too big an ask at 7, he just doesn't have the immediate firepower to go hard from ball one. In fact, the only one who really can is Maxwell - and yet he is still far better suited higher. Might be more a case of needing Maxi at 7 because of that S/R, not because it is his best position.
peter chrisp
Guest
Matth or Ronan thanks for feedback when does the game start Aussie time?
Nick
Guest
That looks a pretty weak line up on current form. Hope they can prove me wrong.