The ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Selection Panel has announced the 14-man squad for the Gillette ODI Series v India starting in Sydney at the SCG on January 12.
Aaron Finch (c) (Victoria)
Usman Khawaja (Queensland)
Shaun Marsh (Western Australia)
Peter Handscomb (Victoria)
Glenn Maxwell (Victoria)
Marcus Stoinis (Western Australia)
Mitch Marsh (vc) (Western Australia)
Alex Carey (vc) (South Australia)
Jhye Richardson (Western Australia)
Billy Stanlake (Queensland)
Jason Behrendorff (Western Australia)
Peter Siddle (Victoria)
Nathan Lyon (New South Wales)
Adam Zampa (South Australia)
³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ selector, Trevor Hohns, said: “After a disappointing period in ODI cricket, the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Selection Panel along with team coaches have reviewed our performances across this format and we’ve identified a number of key areas that we feel we need to improve in order to help put this team in the best possible position to turn this period around.”
“With this in mind and the World Cup looming, we’ve selected players we feel provide us with the flexibility to play a variety of roles at different stages of a match.”
“The upcoming three match series against India and the ODI tours of India and the UAE are important windows to put this into practice and to build a squad to help defend our World Cup title.
“After a hefty workload in the Indian series to date, it has been decided not to select Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood in this squad to allow them to freshen up for the Test series against Sri Lanka.”
“Jhye Richardson, Jason Behrendorff, Peter Siddle and Billy Stanlake fill the fast bowling spots in this squad.”
“It’s wonderful to have Peter back in the squad for the first time since 2010. His white ball cricket has improved considerably the older he has got, and his selection is great reward for his professionalism and strong leadership qualities.”
“We have rewarded both Jhye and Jason as they continue to put up strong performances with the white ball. Jason provides us with a left arm option in the absence of Mitchell Starc and is very capable of taking wickets early in the innings.”
“Nathan Lyon comes back into the squad and will join Adam Zampa as our spin options. Nathan is the best off-spin bowler in the world and we’ve noted how successful teams around the world have been using a two pronged spin attack in the right conditions in white ball cricket, something we are very mindful of heading to the World Cup.”
“With a focus on improving our ability to post competitive totals we’ve recalled Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb and Mitch Marsh to the squad.”
“Usman is a batsman we know can put vital runs on the board at the top of the order, and Peter is not only a fine player of spin bowling, he’s also a batsman we know can hold an innings together while keeping the scoreboard ticking over. Mitch gives us another all-round option with his ability with both bat and ball.”
“Travis Head, Darcy Short and Chris Lynn have been unlucky to miss out. All three have had opportunities to cement their spots, but unfortunately, they have not been as productive as we would have liked in recent times when playing ODI cricket for Australia.”
“Unfortunately for Ashton Agar the return of Nathan Lyon as one of our specialist spinners means there wasn’t a place available in the squad for him.”
“Nathan Coulter-Nile recently experienced some lower back soreness, and on the advice of our medical staff we weren’t prepared to risk selecting Nathan in the side given the demands of the upcoming ODI series.”
“As has been our message throughout the summer, with such a big schedule ahead, both home and away, opportunities may well present themselves for players not selected in this squad.”
Gillette ODI Series Fixture:
First Gillette ODI – January 12
Australia v India
SCG, Sydney
1:20pm (Local Time)
Second Gillette ODI – January 15
Australia v India
Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
1:50pm (Local Time)
Third Gillette ODI – January 18
Australia v India
MCG, Melbourne
1:20pm (Local Time)
