Several players have been ruled out of the first ODI between England and Australia at Trent Bridge today (September 19), after illness caused disruption in both squads.
Australia were left without much of their first choice XI for the match after Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood all went down with the mystery illness. Wicketkeeper Josh Inglis was also unavailable for the match due to quadricep soreness, meaning Alex Carey returned to the side for the first time since he was dropped during the early stages of the 2023 World Cup.
The absences of Australia's two premier quicks also meant Ben Dwarshuis was given an ODI debut, with Aaron Hardie selected as the third seamer. Matt Short was also included in the XI in Maxwell's absence to bat lower down the order.
Read more: Ash Gardner ruled out of T20I after freakish head collision with teammate during warm-up
Earlier this week, Australia added Mahli Beardman to their squad for the series, as cover for a growing list of injury concerns among their fast-bowlers. Xavier Bartlett suffered a side strain during the first T20I of the series against England in Southampton, Nathan Ellis worsened a side injury he sustained during The Hundred on the Scotland leg of Australia's UK tour, with Spencer Johnson and Riley Meredith both ruled out before the tour began with side strains.
England were able to select Jofra Archer as part of their bowling attack for the first time in the format in 18 months, but were unable to include Reece Topley in their side as he too suffered a bout of illness.
Matthew Potts was included in the XI in his place, while Jacob Bethell was handed a debut in the format, and Jamie Smith selected to keep wicket in Jos Buttler's absence due to a calf injury. Harry Brook will captain the side for the series.
Ben Duckett will open for England for the first time in the format as confirmed before the match. Duckett has previously batted at No.3 and No.4 in ODIs, but has been earmarked to take over at the top alongside Phil Salt on a long-term basis. With Brendon McCullum set to take over as England's head white-ball coach at the end of the year, the move marks a further convergence of the Test and white-ball XIs.
Australia XI: Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (c), Steve Smith, Cameron Green, Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey (wk), Matt Short, Aaron Hardie, Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Adam Zampa.
England XI: Phil Salt, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Harry Brook (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
