Alex Carey is a surprise omission from Australia’s T20 World Cup squad which was named today.
Carey was left out in favour of wicketkeeper-batsman Josh Inglis who will get his chance to impress and is set to make his Australian debut.
It seems selectors have lost patience with Carey who has never been able to convert his domestic T20 power hitting to the biggest stage.
Australia has also picked Matthew Wade who could either play as wicketkeeper or as a standalone batsman.
Selectors have gone for plenty of star power from the Test arena with Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc and David Warner all getting the nod.
Australian squad
Aaron Finch (c) (Victoria)
Ashton Agar (Western Australia)
Pat Cummins (vc) (New South Wales)
Josh Hazlewood (New South Wales)
Josh Inglis (Western Australia)
Mitchell Marsh (Western Australia)
Glenn Maxwell (Victoria)
Kane Richardson (South Australia)
Steve Smith (New South Wales)
Mitchell Starc (New South Wales)
Marcus Stoinis (Western Australia)
Mitchell Swepson (Queensland)
Matthew Wade (Tasmania)
David Warner (New South Wales)
Adam Zampa (New South Wales)
Reserves
Dan Christian (New South Wales)
Nathan Ellis (Tasmania)
Daniel Sams (New South Wales).
“We are confident this squad has the ability to take the side deep into what will be an extremely competitive tournament,” Chair of selectors George Bailey said.
“We have some of the best players in the world in their respective roles combined with the collective experience to succeed against the very best T20 sides in the world.”
Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner and Pat Cummins return to the squad having missed the tours of the West Indies and Bangladesh. Steve Smith returns from an elbow injury while captain Aaron Finch is recovering well from recent knee surgery.
Four spinners have also been chosen in a clear sign that Australia is ready to change its strategy in the format it has struggled with.
Mitchell Swepson, Ashton Agar, Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell will have the job of keeping it tight.
Tasmanian Nathan Ellis has been rewarded as one of the few bowlers to hold their own in the Bangladesh series after picking up a hat-trick on debut.
Australia has never won the T20 World Cup in seven attempts and has only made the final once back in 2010.
Australia’s World Cup campaign commences in the UAE with a match against South Africa on October 23.
Australia’s fixtures 2021 T20 World Cup |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Venue | Date | Time | Broadcast |
| South Africa | Abu Dhabi | Oct 23 | 9pm | Fox, Kayo |
| Qualifier (TBC) | Dubai | Oct 29 | 1am | |
| England | Dubai | Oct 31 | 1am | |
| Qualifier (TBC) | Dubai | Nov 4 | 9pm | |
| West Indies | Abu Dhabi | Nov 6 | 9pm | |
Once Upon a Time on the Roar
Roar Guru
Not without being well established already in the grade scene of the state capital.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Disagree. The pool they are drawing on includes country origin.
bowledover
Roar Rookie
Wonder what our strongest or most likely lineup is out of this… am thinking something like: 1. Aaron Finch (c), 2. David Warner, 3. Mitch Marsh, 4. Maxwell/Smith, 5. Smith/Maxwell, 6. Inglis, 7. Agar, 8. Zampa, 9. Starc/someone else?, 10. Pat Cummins, 11. Hazelwood Feel like Wade is not in this lineup as he isnt strong in the middle order and Warner/Finch likely come in first. Smith is a pretty good T20 player. It seems as if Marsh is playing, he needs to be playing higher up. Stoinis, Wade are reserve openers.
Getup
Roar Rookie
Why bother putting the player's state after their name? When have any of these players played T20 cricket for their state?
Prez
Roar Rookie
Its how they use that squad, if they select Marsh, Maxwell and Stoinis, then it gives them enough coverage to play only 4 bowlers. With Agar and Cummins providing tail end batting. So in order Finch, Inglis, Marsh, Smith, Warner, Maxwell, Stoinis, Agar, Cummins, Zampa, Hazelwood,
Barney
Roar Rookie
Bats at 4 ??….he bats all over the place depending on the situation
La grandeur d'Athéna
Roar Rookie
Yes,Josh Inglis. There has been a lot of talk about him lately.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
Oh God no!
maverick
Roar Rookie
Baily hinted that Wade is the frontrunner
Jeff
Roar Rookie
Silly 12 ball comment? That’s precisely what Maxwell has given Australia on average over the last couple of years. How is it silly when it is a fact? — How is Maxwell “stupid Langer’s sacrificial lamb” when Maxwell is batted at #4 by Langer? With respect, your comment makes no sense.
Once Upon a Time on the Roar
Roar Guru
Sydney is much more accessible to its country and bush citizens than all other mainland state capitals bar Melbourne, so a lot more cricket talent from country areas would find their way down to Sydney to make a life and cricket career there. The chances of someone like Glenn McGrath being spotted by a cricket philanthropist like Doug Walters playing a local rep game somewhere like Bundaberg or Mackay are even more remote than Narromine's geographical location.
Tempo
Roar Rookie
It ends up being remarkably similar to NSW as a % of Australia's total population, which is also around 32%.
Tempo
Roar Rookie
I think we also need to factor in the likely conditions in the UAE on used pitches after playing the IPL there too. The pitches are likely to be slow and taking turn and we can expect relatively low scoring matches. Smith will become more useful in these sorts of conditions. If they somehow produce flat decks Smith's value declines, though as you say he does have the big-game experience.
Barney
Roar Rookie
Then you should know better than the silly 12 ball comment. Everything is context, when he comes in , what the run rate is etc. Maxi has been the sacrificial lamb by stupid Langer time and time again, but always puts the team first. Handled well like the recent ipl , which is essentially world standard, we see what he can do, it’s what australia needs to do to win the World Cup
Tempo
Roar Rookie
Maxwell has a better record in T20I than T20 domestically though. He averages 32 and strikes at 159, compared to 27 and 152 in T20s overall. He's scored the most centuries for Australia in the format and second most of any T20I player. He's not the player you can rely on week in week out, but he has an excellent T20I record overall as an impact player.
Once Upon a Time on the Roar
Roar Guru
Twas an educated guess. Is 80% accuracy a pass? :stoked:
Tempo
Roar Rookie
How do you figure 40%? I calculate a combined population for those six cities at 16.8 million, with Sydney at 5.4 million, so around 32%.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
You mean Inglis? Yes Bailey has always come across as a thinking person's cricketer. He's actually take on the role as Chairman of Selectors. Good to have a recently retire player as a selector.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
Smith or Marsh?
JGK
Roar Guru
Plus he is a gun fielder.