By Basant El-Faramawy
Australia have rested their frontline pace attack of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood for the upcoming three-match ODI and five-match T20 series against England later this month.
Workload management ahead of Test series
The decision follows Australia’s three-Test tour of South Africa, which ended in a 2-1 series loss, and comes with a demanding schedule that includes Test assignments against New Zealand and India either side of Christmas. Chair of selectors George Bailey said the multi-format players are transitioning directly from South Africa into the white-ball series, leaving a narrow window to prepare for the New Zealand Tests.
New faces called up
Fast-bowling prospect Mahli Beardman, 21, earns a call-up to both squads after recovering from injury, while left-armer Spencer Johnson, batter Ollie Peake and all-rounders Liam Scott and Jack Edwards are also included. Explosive batter Jake Fraser-McGurk returns to the T20 side for the first time in over a year, and uncapped Lachlan Shaw receives his first promotion after strong performances for the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League.
Test players rotated
Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis and Matt Renshaw have been selected for the ODI matches but will be rotated out for the T20 fixtures.
Marsh to lead ODIs
Mitch Marsh will again assume the ODI captaincy in Cummins’ absence, continuing his role as regular stand-in.
Series schedule
England will play a warm-up match at the WACA in Perth on November 7 before the first ODI at Optus Stadium on November 13. The series concludes with the final T20 in Canberra on December 2.
