Australia name full-strength squads for Sri Lanka tour, drop Marcus Harris from Test team
Australia will be close to full strength in all three formats for their forthcoming tour of Sri Lanka, starting on June 8. Cricket Australia have named 34 players for the all-format tour, including a 16-man 'A' squad.
Opener Marcus Harris has been axed from the Test squad, but the left-hander has made it to the 'A' team. However, Pat Cummins, who began his captaincy tenure last year with the Ashes series, will have all the first-choice players at his disposal from the victorious series in Pakistan.
Australia are off to Sri Lanka - and now the schedule has been locked in! #SLvAUS
Seamer Michael Neser, currently playing county cricket for Glamorgan, was a surprise exclusion from the Test squad. The right-arm seamer didn't even make the 'A' squad.
Pacer Jhye Richardson missed out on the Test squad, as the selectors have decided to stay cautious with his workload, instead including him in the 'A' and T20 squads. Keeper-batter Josh Inglis is the only player to be named in all three senior squads and the 'A' side. They will play two four-day games in Hambantota after a couple of one-day matches in Colombo.
Chief selector George Bailey addressed the selection of the 'A' squad by saying that it offers plenty of options for any format. The former Australian captain said, as quoted by cricket.com.au:
"It's incredibly exciting to have an Australia A component which offers the further flexibility and opportunity for players to be available for and cross over into all squads. That could be from a Test or white-ball preparation perspective or an opportunity to impress at an international level. This is the first time a tour of this scale has been possible since the Ashes in 2019."
Big guns like Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, David Warner, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell and Matthew Wade have returned to the limited-overs set-up after missing the same in Pakistan. Cummins will skip the three-game T20 series, while Adam Zampa remains unavailable due to the impending birth of his first child.
Ben McDermott, who impressed on the tour of Pakistan, couldn't find a spot in the white ball squads. Instead, he will play county cricket for Hampshire in England.
Australia squads for Sri Lanka tour
T20 squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner.
ODI squad: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner.
Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner.
Australia A squad: Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Peter Handscomb, Aaron Hardie, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Henry Hunt, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Nic Maddinson, Todd Murphy, Josh Philippe, Matt Renshaw, Jhye Richardson, Tanveer Sangha, Mark Steketee.
Andrew McDonald has been appointed as Head Coach of the Australian Men's Cricket Team on a four-year contract!
Congratulations, Ronnie ✍️ https://t.co/i5dlCNL5YI
The tour will also be Andrew McDonald's first assignment as Australia's full-time head coach after succeeding Justin Langer.