Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood Rest for England ODIs, T20s
Australia named squads for three ODIs and five T20s against England without its three Test quicks, who are being saved for a busy Test summer.
Australia's Test captain Pat Cummins and fellow fast bowlers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood have been left out of the squads for the coming one-day and T20 series against England. The selectors are resting the trio ahead of a summer of 10 Tests in 14 weeks.
Fresh names and returning players
Tim David of the Hobart Hurricanes, recently named Australian T20 player of the year, will spearhead the T20 squad. Opener Jake Fraser-McGurk has won back a T20 place for the first time since 2025. Promising young New South Wales batter Lachlan Shaw joins that squad for the first time, after impressing on the recent Australia A tour of India and in the BBL.
Western Australian paceman Mahli Beardman will make his national one-day debut. He has played one T20 for Australia. Selection chair George Bailey said Beardman's recent Australia A performances were impressive. "We think he can continue to develop into an all-format player across the coming years," Bailey said.
Jack Edwards is in both squads, rewarded for a recent tour of South Africa and consistent domestic cricket. Left-arm quick Spencer Johnson and all-rounder Liam Scott return to the ODI squad. Nathan Ellis misses the ODIs because he has not recovered from a side strain.
What the two squads are building toward
The ODI side continues to build toward Australia's defence of the World Cup in Africa in 2027. The T20 squad has a longer-term goal: the 2028 LA Olympics and a T20 World Cup.
Mitchell Marsh captains both squads. Adam Zampa, Xavier Bartlett, Mahli Beardman, Jack Edwards and Spencer Johnson are named in both.
The workload behind the rest
"We are in the middle of a highly demanding phase of our schedule," Bailey said. Players who feature in several formats go straight from the South Africa tour into the ODI and T20 series. That leaves a narrow window to be physically prepared and fresh for the New Zealand Test series.
A longer stretch follows. From the day the Test players assemble in Perth until the 150th anniversary Test against England is over, the team will have spent more than 100 days on the road. To manage that, each player's build-up to the New Zealand series will be planned individually around physical and mental preparation, Bailey said.
Batters managed through the T20s
Travis Head, Matthew Renshaw, Josh Inglis, Cooper Connolly and all-rounder Cameron Green will be managed through the T20 series after long tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa. They are preparing for four Tests against New Zealand and five in India.
Australia will play three ODIs and five T20 internationals. The squads were named on Monday.
Our View
Resting the three quicks and several batters trades star power in the white-ball matches for health in the Tests. How the newcomers perform against England will show how deep the bench really is, and whether Bailey's plan for individual build-ups leaves the Test players fresh for New Zealand.
Source: The Guardian