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On Monday, rising star Jake Fraser-McGurk was chosen to join Australia’s squad for their upcoming white-ball tour of the UK, stepping into the void left by the retired David Warner. The selectors have opted to rest pace leader Pat Cummins as part of a scheduled break.
Mitchell Marsh will take on the role of captain for the tour, set to commence in September. The schedule kicks off with three T20 matches against Scotland, followed by a series of three T20s and five one-day internationals against England.
Steve Smith, the former captain who was excluded from Australia’s T20 World Cup squad earlier this year, will feature exclusively in the one-day format during this tour.
Cummins “will miss the entirety of the UK tour in line with a pre-planned, long-term load management strategy”, Cricket Australia said in naming the squads.
Power-hitting opener Fraser-McGurk, aged 22, earned his one-day international debut earlier this year and was previously part of the Twenty20 World Cup squad as a travelling reserve. With veteran Warner retiring post-tournament, Fraser-McGurk now seizes his opportunity.
Exciting all-rounder Cooper Connolly, aged 20, is also poised to make his T20 debut. However, experienced wicketkeeper Matthew Wade did not make the cut for the squad.
“This tour gives us a great opportunity to bring in some new players,” said chair of selectors George Bailey.
“We are particularly pleased to offer Cooper his first opportunity in the T20 squad having introduced the likes of Jake (Fraser McGurk), Spencer (Johnson), Xavier (Bartlett) and Aaron (Hardie) 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 set-up.
Australia ODI Squad
Mitchell Marsh (captain), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa
Australia T20 squad
Mitchell Marsh (captain), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa
