Following his omission from Australia’s ICC Cricket World Cup squad, Marnus Labuschagne will get a chance to make an impact as he will be in Australia ‘A’ one-day team for three ODI series against New Zealand starting next month. Labuschange, though he remains in good touch as a Test batter, has been battling a lean patch in the ODI format since 2022. Last year in 14 innings, he scored 331 runs at an average of 25.46, with three fifties in 14 innings. This year, he has just managed 43 runs in two innings. Labuschagne joins other fringe white-ball players like Ben McDermott, Josh Philippe and Ashton Turner in the Australia A squad. The squad also features Matthew Short, the reigning Big Bash League Player of the Tournament, who is in line for T20I debut on tour against South Africa starting later this month. Test off-spinner Todd Murphy also is included in the white-ball squad with Victoria allrounder Will Sutherland and rising NSW talent Ollie Davies. The trio managed to impress national selector George Bailey while playing for their states in white-ball cricket. The Australia A series, which will have matches in Brisbane and Mackay, also features two four-day contests against NZ A, with top-order Cameron Bancroft being given a chance to make an impact and present himself as David Warner’s long-term replacement at the top, who has flagged that he will retire after the Sydney Test against Pakistan early next year.
The 25-year-old Ward is in Chennai getting a taste of cricket in India as a part of a group that will be training and playing at MRF Academy over the next fortnight. Ward is a part of nine players that featured in A series across Tasman in April, which also includes Wes Agar, Jordan Buckingham, Caleb Jewell, Campbell Kellaway Nathan McSweeney, Mitch Perry and Queensland’s veteran wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson. Leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson and Matthew Kuhnemann have been included in the A squad as well and will make first-class appearances.
The four-day squad has new faces like Josh Phillipe, South Australia allrounder Nathan McAndrew, WA’s Matthew Kelly and fast bowling pair Mark Steketee and Ben Dwarshuis. Players who were included in the Australia tour of the UK which concluded recently or who played a lot of cricket in winter were not considered for selection. That explains the absence of Marcus Harris, another opener who is in line to replace Warner as Test opener. He was included in the Ashes squad but did not play a match. “The squad contains some players who have put up some excellent state cricket performances, along with several emerging players we believe have exciting future in international cricket,” Bailey said in a statement.
