Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood will miss Australia’s home ODI and T20I series against England, Cricket Australia announced on Monday, as selectors protect the Test attack for the four-Test series against New Zealand that starts on 9 December. Mitchell Marsh captains both 14-man squads.
The squads come days after South Africa’s 176-run win at Newlands sealed a Test series that cost Australia top spot in the ICC rankings. Against England, Marsh will lead a pace group with none of the three bowlers who have carried Australia’s attack for a decade.
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Key points
- Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood sit out the ODIs and T20Is against England
- Mitchell Marsh captains both 14-man squads; the ODI series starts in Perth on 13 November
- No player from the third Test against South Africa is in the T20I squad
Why Bailey is resting his Test bowlers
“We are in the middle of a highly demanding phase of our schedule,” chief selector George Bailey said, as reported by Reuters. “Our multiformat players are transitioning directly from the tour of South Africa into an ODI and T20 series, leaving a narrow window to ensure the squad is physically prepared and fresh for the upcoming New Zealand test series.”
Only six of the Test group made the ODI squad: Travis Head, Matthew Renshaw, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis and Cooper Connolly. None of them is in the T20I squad, AP reported.
The two squads
| ODIs (Perth, Adelaide, Hobart) | T20Is (five matches) |
|---|---|
| Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Mahli Beardman, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Jack Edwards, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Ollie Peake, Matthew Renshaw, Liam Scott, Adam Zampa | Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Mahli Beardman, Nikhil Chaudhary, Tim David, Joel Davies, Jack Edwards, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sam Harper, Spencer Johnson, Mitchell Owen, Lachlan Shaw, Adam Zampa |
Mahli Beardman, 21, returns from injury and is in both squads. All-rounders Jack Edwards and Liam Scott will play at home for Australia for the first time, and 20-year-old Ollie Peake is in the ODI group, according to Reuters.
A different test for England
England arrive after a poor tri-series in Pakistan, where they failed to reach the final that Pakistan won against Sri Lanka in Lahore. They will now face an Australian ODI attack built around Bartlett, Johnson, Beardman and the all-rounders, with Zampa the only specialist spinner.
The batting is a different story. Head, Marsh, Inglis, Green and Carey give Australia a top six that would not look out of place in a full-strength side, which is why the ODIs may be decided more by how England’s batters handle the new ball than by anything else.
What happens next
The ODI series starts in Perth on 13 November, and the other two games, on 15 and 18 November, are in Adelaide and Hobart. The five T20Is run from late November into early December in Melbourne, the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Sydney and Canberra. The rest is aimed at the first Test against New Zealand on 9 December.
Market watch
- Without Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood, the top Australia bowler market opens up. Zampa is the one regular in both squads with a long ODI record.
- A young pace group on Australian pitches can go either way: early wickets with extra bounce, or expensive spells. Match totals deserve a careful look once the Perth conditions are known.
- Head and Marsh in the top order keep Australia’s opening-stand numbers strong whoever bowls.
- Squads can change once players return from South Africa. Check the final XIs before any player market.
For more, see our teams hub, the latest match predictions and upcoming fixtures in our match centre.
Top image: Graphic: Cricket Betting
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Wendy Prinsloo
Wendy is an iGaming journalist and sports betting writer who covers cricket news, betting platforms, odds, and online casinos.
She writes about the latest developments in the cricket industry and helps readers stay updated while understanding how betting works.
