Australia’s Other Touring Squads 2019 including Ashes Tour

ABC news

Australia A one day squad named

Touring at the same time as the World Cup will be an Australian A side, which includes a number of players on the cusp of the 15-man World Cup squad,”Given the depth of talent and competition for spots, there were a number of tough calls we had to make to settle on our squad of 15,” Hohns said.That competition for spots has meant Peter Handscomb, Ashton Turner and Kane Richardson — all members of the squad that won the back-to-back ODI series in Asia — will miss out.

“The tour will see Australia A play five one day matches against County teams while the World Cup is underway,” Hohns said.  “This will provide us with the appropriate coverage to bring players into the Australian World Cup squad if required.”

Another notable exclusion is Josh Hazelwood, with Hohns choosing instead to wrap last year’s form strike bowler in cotton wool ahead of the Ashes. “Having not played at the highest level for some time, we feel this will provide him with the best preparation to get some quality cricket under his belt,” Hohns said.

“Our focus is to have Josh back bowling at his best for the commencement of a big Ashes Tour.” Hazelwood has not appeared in an ODI for Australia since a match against South Africa in Hobart last November after suffering a back injury.

Australia A four day Tour squad

The selectors have also named a 14-man four-day Australia A touring squad as preparation for the Ashes. Cameron Bancroft has not been named in the squad but will instead look to press his case as captain of Durham in the County Championship. Likewise, Joe Burns (Lancashire), Marnus Labuschagne (Glamorgan), Matt Renshaw (Kent), Peter Siddle (Essex) and Daniel Worrall (Gloucestershire) will have to prove themselves with their respective counties.

Victorian progeny Will Pucovski and Tasmanian firebrand Matthew Wade — who expressed frustration at his treatment from the selectors in January — have both been named in the side, with both keen to press their case for inclusion after stellar 2018/19 domestic seasons in first class cricket.

The side will be captained by incumbent Test skipper Tim Paine. The Australia A are set to play three four-day matches against Sussex, England Lions and the senior Australia side, “providing the players with a good opportunity to push their case for selection,” according to Hohns. “We have made it clear that strong form with [the omitted players’] County teams will be taken into account for selection in the Ashes squad or the Australia v Australia A tour match.”

The intra-squad match, set to take place from July 23 at the Rose Bowl in Southampton, will be the final test before the Ashes gets underway in Edgbaston on August 1.

Mitch Marsh drops off contract list

Mitch Marsh has lost his Cricket Australia contract, less than seven months after being named vice-captain. Marsh was dropped from the Test team after a torrid run with the bat against Pakistan, only returning for the Boxing Day Test against India at the MCG, where he was booed.

Matt Renshaw, Ashton Agar, Billy Stanlake and Andrew Tye also dropped off the 20-strong list, whilst Kurtis Patterson, Joe Burns and Marnus Labuschagne — who all shone for Australia against Sri Lanka earlier this year — were overlooked.

“We believe the 2019/20 contract list provides us with a versatile group of players who can represent Australia across all three formats over the contract period,” Hohns said.”Our key criteria focused on selecting a pool of players who are going to help us in our ambition to win the upcoming World Cup and Ashes Series in England, and who can also play the various formats over the course of the Australian summer.”

Marcus Harris was handed his first national contract after his performances at the top of the order in the home summer of cricket, with Nathan Coulter-Nile and James Pattinson also added to the list.

David Warner and Steve Smith were also added to the group.

2019/20 contracted players: Patrick Cummins, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Alex Carey, Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, James Pattinson, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa.

Topics: cricket, sport, australia, england

First posted about 7 hours ago