Australia has announced the squad for the one-day internationals to be played against England after the Ashes. One noticeable absentee is Glenn Maxwell who has been dropped after a poor showing in the last ODI series that Australia played in India in September. More worrying for Glenn Maxwell should be the fact that despite his recent good performances for Victoria in the Sheffield Shield, Steve Smith the Australian captain has voice questions over Maxwell”s training habits and wants him to work over it.
Maxwell”s place has been indirectly taken up by the big-hitting T20 batsmen Chris Lynn, Lynn”s been awarded this place for his promise and what he could add to the ODI setup despite his long injury lay-off preceding this series. Lynn doesn”t play State cricket anymore and has only just returned to BBL as well.
Selectors have also made it clear that Nathan Coulter Nile who played the India series and Jason Behrendroff who took part in the T20 series on the same tour are nursing their injuries and hence aren”t available for the selection.
Tim Paine”s good showing early in the domestic season and now in the Ashes have earned him the place on the ODI side as well. Preference for Paine comes from the fact that selectors believe he offers much more with the bat & is safe with gloves and as a package offer more than what Matthew Wade does who played in India but had to make way for Paine in the Ashes too.
Andrew Tye”s outstanding performances for Western Australia and in the BBL have earned him the place in the squad, Selectors believe his proficiency with death overs skills adds a crucial dimension to the team and gives Smith more variety at his disposal.
Otherwise the squad is pretty much the first choice squad for the ODIs with Steve Smith at the helm of affairs and his deputy David Warner. While Australia has picked its famous trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazelwood and Pat Cummins for the squad, it”s been indicated that they”ll be rotated and rested looking at the future concerning the Test tour to South Africa in March where Australia play four test matches. With Jhye Richardson as the other premier fast bowling option in the squad.
The opening batsmen Aron Finch continues at the top of the order with Warner. Travis Head is the middle order batsmen in the squad with Marcus Stoinis & Mitchell Marsh as the two-seam bowling all-rounder available. Adam Zampa holds his place as the lone spinner.
The squad is basically in line with the Ashes where fast bowlers led the way to have an attack on England”s batting resolves.
Australian Squad:Â Steve Smith(c), David Warner, Aron Finch, Chris Lynn, Travis Head, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine(wk), Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.
The first ODI begins at Melbourne Cricket Ground on the 14th Jan.
– by Kashish Chadha
