Travis Head, the opening batsman for Australia, has been left off the roster for the last ODI and T20I matches against the West Indies to give him time to “refresh” after a demanding Test season. Josh Hazlewood has been added to the team for the second ODI against the West Indies at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), according to cricket.com.au. Head will take a vacation before Australia’s Test and T20I series against New Zealand this month, and he won’t be playing in the next two ODIs and all three T20Is against the Windies. Head will return home to Adelaide.
Head was dismissed for just four runs in two balls in the opening One-Day International as the Windies were chasing 232. However, Josh Inglis (65*), Cameron Green (77*), and Steve Smith (79*) all hit clutch fifty-scores to lead their side to a comfortable eight-wicket victory.
Pacer Xavier Bartlett, who made an unforgettable international debut in the first ODI and recorded figures of 4/17, will also be rested from tomorrow’s second ODI.
According to a statement from Cricket Australia, Xavier’s “ongoing management” led to the decision, given that he missed the first half of the domestic season after recovering from a back stress injury.
Bartlett took part in every game during Brisbane Heat’s Big Bash League (BBL) championship run, but the selectors have chosen to avoid taking any chances and have given him three ODIs in five days.
For the third ODI in Canberra, Bartlett is probably coming back, and Spencer Johnson, a teammate from the Heat, will also be joining the team. For the second ODI, which is being played in Sydney, where Hazlewood comes from, he gets included in the squad.
Having made his white-ball debut in both forms the previous year, Johnson was a notable absence from the original roster. With 19 scalps, he had trailed Bartlett (20 wickets) in the BBL season 13 wicket total.
It has been an incredible 13 months for Johnson since his BBL debut in January of last year. He took six wickets in his Sheffield Shield debut, received his T20I and ODI debut caps, performed well in England’s The Hundred competition, and in December, he finally signed a massive A$ 1.78 million Indian Premier League (IPL) contract with the defending champion Gujarat Titans.
The release of Head also makes room for Jake Fraser McGurk, who made an impression in the BBL this season, to make his international debut. Additionally, the two-time BBL “Player of the Tournament” may be able to advance to the top of the rankings.
Inglis took over as the opening batsman after the great David Warner retired from the Test and 50-over formats, while Short was ranked sixth in the opening Windies ODI.
After moving from Victoria to South Australia during the off-season, Fraser McGurk became a candidate for the national squad after he achieved the fastest List A century in history in just 29 balls during his team’s first 50-over match. In the nine BBL games that followed, he scored 257 runs with two fifties and an SR of over 158, earning a berth on the “Team of the Tournament.”
West Indies against. Men’s ODI Series
Australia won by eight wickets on February 2.
February 4th: SCG
February 6: Oval Manuka
Steve Smith (captain), Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood (only in the second ODI), Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson (only in the third ODI), Marnus Labuschagne, Lance Morris, Matt Short, Will Sutherland, and Adam Zampa are the players for Australia in the One-Day Internationals.
The West Indies ODI team consists of the following players: Romario Shepherd, Oshane Thomas, Alzarri Joseph, Alick Athanaze, Teddy Bishop, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge, Tevin Imlach, Gudakesh Motie, Kjorn Ottley, Hayden Walsh Jr.
West Indies against. Men’s T20I Series
Blundstone Arena, February 9
February 11: Adelaide Oval
February 13: Perth Municipal Stadium
Australia’s Twenty20 International team: Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa, Sean Abbott, Jason Behrendorff, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, and Mitchell Marsh (captain).
The West Indies T20I team consists of the following players: Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Oshane Thomas, Jason Powell (captain).