Australia has named a 16-man Test squad for their upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, their first with Andrew McDonald in charge, officially. Marcus Harris and Glenn Maxwell aren’t going.
With Andrew McDonald now officially coach, Marcus Harris has been cut from Australia’s Test setup. Glenn Maxwell is the other big name not included in its 16-man squad for the Sri Lanka tour.
Harris was part of the Test squad on the recent tour of Pakistan, however Usman Khawaja continued his red hot form after leapfrogging Harris during the Ashes last summer.
The left-handed opener will have to push his claims as part of the Australia A squad on the tour.
Batting all-rounder Glenn Maxwell was the other point of conjecture. Momentum of a Test recall had been growing since McDonald’s coaching appointment.
He coached Maxwell at state level and previously supported his return to the red-ball fold. The big hitter is still going to Sri Lanka, headlining Australia’s short-format sides.
The Sri Lanka tour will consist of two Test matches, five ODIs and three T20s across June and July. Australia A will play two one-day and four-day matches.
Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner
Australia ODI squad: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner
Australia T20 squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner
Australia A squad: Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Peter Handscomb, Aaron Hardie, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Henry Hunt, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Nic Maddinson, Todd Murphy, Josh Philippe, Matt Renshaw, Jhye Richardson, Tanveer Sangha, Mark Steketee
Captain Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, David Warner, Steve Smith, Matthew Wade and Maxwell have all returned to the limited-overs squads having missed the recent white-ball games in Pakistan.
Some next generation talent will also get a look in, with spinners Matthew Kuhnemann, Todd Murphy and Tanveer Sangha included.
Murphy, an off-spinner from Victoria, has played just two Sheffield Shield matches, and his selection in the Australia A squad at the age of 21 is a sign that selectors are beginning to plan for a future beyond Nathan Lyon.
Chief selector George Bailey is putting an added focus on Australia’s T20 World Cup defence and next year’s ODI World Cup.
“These (squads) are very targeted to skill sets and what we see as the bulk of the squad for the home T20 World Cup and looking further forward to the ODI World Cup,” Bailey said when the squads were announced.
Coach Andrew McDonald of course took the reins – as interim – in Pakistan, making this upcoming tour his first campaign in an official capacity.
