Cooper Connolly receives maiden call-up

On Monday morning, Australia announced their squad for the upcoming white-ball tour of the United Kingdom, which will see them play 11 matches against Scotland and England, beginning on September 4.

There are a few new faces in the squads for both the T20 and ODI formats. Jake Fraser-McGurk, who lit up the Indian Premier League earlier this year, has been named in both squads, and is likely to be David Warner's long-term replacement in white-ball cricket, after the latter retired from international cricket following the T20 World Cup.

Fraser-McGurk has already played two ODIs, both on home turf when West Indies visited Australia in February. Yet to make his T20I debut, he was part of Australia's camp in the 2024 T20 World Cup as a travelling reserve.

 

 

Cooper Connolly receives maiden call-up

A more surprising inclusion has been that of 20-year-old southpaw Cooper Connolly. He enjoyed a productive Big Bash League with the Perth Scorchers in 2024, batting primarily at No.6. He scored 150 runs in seven matches at a strike rate of 144, often finishing innings with aplomb. His left-arm spin, which fetched five wickets, makes him a solid all-round package.

Connolly has captained Australia Under-19 before, and is well-known to the seniors' T20 captain Mitchell Marsh: they are teammates at both Western Australia and Perth Scorchers.

Pat Cummins rested

The other notable decision is the one to leave Cummins out of the tour entirely. A Cricket Australia spokesperson confirmed he was being rested as part of a long-term load-management strategy. Australia's Test amd ODI captain has been in action almost continuously since last year.

Cummins played in the 2023 Ashes series, the ODI World Cup, the bilateral series against Pakistan and the West Indies at home, followed by the tour of New Zealand. He then captained Sunrisers Hyderabad for two months at the IPL before playing in the T20 World Cup, and is now playing for the San Francisco Unicorns in Major League Cricket, which runs until the end of July.

T20I captain Marsh will lead the side for the ODIs in his absence.

George Bailey: Great opportunity to bring in new players

Other decisions include call-ups for fast bowlers Spencer Johnson and Xavier Bartlett to the T20I side and Mitchell Starc only for the ODIs. Pace-bowling all-rounder Aaron Hardie has made the cut for both squads, having made 11 international appearances in limited-overs cricket since August 2023.

Men's selection chair George Bailey was quoted by Cricket Australia as saying, "This tour gives us a great opportunity to bring in some new players in the absence of David Warner and Matthew Wade, as well as giving some senior players time to prepare for the home summer and a busy first half of next year.

"We are particularly pleased to offer Cooper his first opportunity in the T20 squad having introduced the likes of Jake, Spencer, Xavier and Aaron in the past 12 months. They are exciting prospects to join the likes of Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis and Josh Inglis in the white-ball setup."

Australia squad for tour of Scotland and England

T20 squad

Batters: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Travis Head, Tim David

Bowlers: Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Spencer Johnson, Adam Zampa

All-rounders: Mitchell Marsh (c), Cooper Connolly, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Marcus Stoinis 

Wicketkeepers: Josh Inglis

ODI squad

Batters: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Short, Steve Smith

Bowlers: Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa

All-rounders: Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Glenn Maxwell 

Wicketkeepers: Josh Inglis, Alex Carey

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