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The Australian cricket selectors have made the bold call to drop Marnus Labuschagne from their squad for the ODI World Cup while Mitchell Marsh has been temporarily handed the captaincy for the T20 team following the retirement of Aaron Finch.
An 18-man World Cup squad, which will be trimmed to 15, and a T20 squad have been named for the two white-ball series in South Africa which start at the end of the month and Labuschagne was the biggest name to miss the cut.
Young WA all-rounder Aaron Hardie has been rewarded for his strong domestic form by being called into both squads while NSW leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha is the other uncapped player in the ODI squad and top-order batter Matt Short and left-arm seamer Spencer Johnson are the rookies in the T20 outfit.
Test captain Pat Cummins has a wrist injury so he won’t play in the first T20 part of the tour of South Africa but Mitchell Starc will back up after being cleared of the shoulder injury he suffered late in the Ashes series.
Cummins, who is also the ODI captain, has “an undisplaced fracture of his left radius which requires six weeks rehabilitation,” said Australia’s selection chair George Bailey.
Tanveer Sangha. (Photo by Jason McCawley – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)
“We view a period of enforced rest for Pat as a positive ahead of this important World Cup campaign.
“We expect him to join the squad during the South African ODI series. There are still a number of games he could play before the World Cup, which is more than enough for him to have a strong preparation.”
The selectors are yet to name a replacement as skipper for the ODI squad in South Africa with Steve Smith and Josh Hazlewood the leading contenders after filling in for Cummins over the past year.
Beyond the World Cup, Bailey acknowledged that having the same man captain both the T20 and ODI sides “would be nice”, given tours regularly feature both formats in quick succession.
“You’ve got a little bit of continuity across your group and you’re not constantly changing,” he said of the prospect. “It’s nice to have that common thread throughout, but (we’re) also aware that could be a pie-in-the-sky dream.
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“What we don’t really know is just what the team looks like post World Cup … they tend to be the end of the line for some players. We’ll keep assessing that as it goes.”
Labuschagne has a modest record in 50-over matches with an average of 31.37 after playing 30 of Australia’s 38 matches since his debut in January 2020.
“Marnus at his best is good enough to hold down a spot in the one-day team,” Bailey said.
“We haven’t seen enough of it consistently.”
Victorian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell will miss the ODI leg of the tour due to the impending arrival of his first child.
Jhye Richardson was not considered as he continues his recovery from a series of hamstring issues that have plagued him, while Lance Morris is on the comeback trail from a back issue.
“This side has been extremely impressive for several years in limited-overs cricket,” said Bailey. “There is an enormous amount of skill and experience in the group, which you need in a World Cup.”
Marsh has not been appointed full-time T20 skipper so there is a possibility that Cummins takes on that role as well when he is fit again or another player is appointed captain.
“Mitch has long been a senior player within the white-ball structure, with this an opportunity for him to add to his leadership skills at international level,” said Bailey. “We look forward to him taking that step in South Africa.”
The Aussies will also take on India in a three-match ODI warm-up series before the World Cup opener against the hosts on October 8.
Australia will remain in India after the World Cup for a T20 series, with Bailey flagging the returns of both Warner and Matthew Wade for those games.
Australia ODI squad (to be trimmed to 15 for the ODI World Cup): Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Australia T20 squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Jason Behrendorff, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa
Fixtures on tour: T20s v South Africa: August 31, September 2 and 3.
ODIs v South Africa: September 7, 9, 12, 15 and 17.
ODIs v India: September 22, 24, 27.