WI vs AUS | Owen handed maiden Australia call-up as Marsh return to lead in T20Is
Australia will began preparations for next year's T20 World Cup with a three-match series in the West Indies in July, for which they have named a 16-member squad. Mitch Marsh will captain having returned from injury while namesake Owen receives a maiden call-up in a squad missing many regulars.
Cricket Australia on Wednesday revealed a 16-man contingent that will travel to the Caribbean next month for five T20Is from July 20 to July 28, with games set to be played in Kingston and Bassetterre. The Men from Down Under will be led by Mitchell Marsh after the veteran missed their previous short-form assignment last summer against Pakistan and saw Josh Inglis stand in as captain. Senior players Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Travis Head have been rested for the series and will return home after the three Tests against the West Indies. The T20Is are the first of 16 that Australia will play in the lead up to the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka after failing to make it to the knockout stage in the previous edition.
The squad does not feature Jake-Fraser McGurk for the first time since he broke into the national set-up last year, given the youngster has a solitary half-century in 14 internationals and is enduring a horrid patch of form in leagues as well. The Punjab Kings duo of Marcus Stoinis and Xavier Bartlett also missed out on selection, despite the former enjoying an impressive IPL season and boasting great pedigree at ICC events. Instead, their Kings teammate Mitchell Owen will be a part of the team on the back of a scintillating Big Bash year where he ended as the top-scorer with 452 runs.
The squad includes as many as six spin bowling options, with Adam Zampa and Matt Kuhnemann as the specialists, Glenn Maxwell and Cooper Connolly as the all-rounders, and part-timers in Tim David and Matthew Short. In the pace department, Spencer Johnson, Nathan Ellis, Sean Abbott, and Ben Dwarshuis will fight for spots with Josh Hazlewood who has been afforded no rest despite a packed schedule. With Cameron Green also returning but as a specialist batter and Marsh unlikely to bowl, Aaron Hardie seems set to be their primary pace all-rounder option.
"We have a busy T20 schedule coming up through this series, followed by three against South Africa and New Zealand and five matches against India at home as we continue to refine and build a squad we think will be the right fit for the World Cup on the subcontinent. There are a number of players outside the squad who can still force their way into the mix for those upcoming and through the Big Bash," chief selector George Bailey said after the squad announcement.
"The connection, role development and combinations we will have as options are growing nicely as we build towards the World Cup. It's an exciting time in our T20 space."
Australia's T20I squad vs West Indies: Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Matt Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Owen, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa
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