Mitchell Marsh and David Warner cleared for T20 World Cup as Australia confirms squad

Australia has locked in its squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, with two key batters backed to overcome injury for the showpiece tournament, reports DANIEL CHERNY.

David Warner and Mitch Marsh have been cleared for Australia’s Twenty20 World Cup campaign as national selectors locked in their 15-man squad before Saturday’s final deadline.

Warner (hand) and Marsh (hamstring) both had interrupted Indian Premier League seasons with the Delhi Capitals but have been included in the squad finalised on Tuesday.

Cricket Australia confirmed this masthead’s report that opener Jake Fraser-McGurk and all-rounder Matt Short had been picked as the two travelling reserves, and that spinner Tanveer Sangha was not in the mix following a hip injury.

“Matt and Jake made compelling cases for initial selection with their respective performances for Australia last summer and, in Jake’s case, more recently in the IPL,” selection chair George Bailey said.

“As the tournament proceeds, the short turnaround between fixtures makes it challenging to get players in at short notice in the event of injury. Matt provides the squad with an all-round skillset option, while Jake provides further batting cover.

“Both players have exciting talents that can add to the squad if needed. If not, the experience will still be valuable in their respective development journeys at international level.”

BBL star to join IPL tyro as Australian World Cup reserve

Australia is poised to take two backup top-order batters to the Twenty20 World Cup, with Matt Short almost certain to join Jake Fraser-McGurk as a travelling reserve.

With David Warner having been plagued in recent weeks by bone bruising in his hand, and Mitch Marsh leaving the Indian Premier League early with a hamstring injury, Australian selectors George Bailey, Tony Dodemaide and coach Andrew McDonald are set to load up on batting power play options as cover.

Despite speculation to the contrary, injury-prone leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha is highly unlikely to head to the Caribbean. Tweakers Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar are already in the 15-man squad, with Glenn Maxwell and Travis Head also providing off-spin options.

The stunning exploits of Fraser-McGurk, 22, for the IPL’s Delhi Capitals meant his omission hogged attention in the dissection of the selectors’ squad announced three weeks ago, but the versatile Short was arguably even stiffer to miss.

Jake Fraser-McGurk lighting it up for the Delhi Capitals. Picture: Arun Sankar/AFP

Having claimed back-to-back gongs as Big Bash League player of the season after starring as an opener and off-spinner for the Adelaide Strikers, Short has also played nine T20 internationals since late last August, playing a variety of roles up and down the order.

He was named player of the match for his 27 off 11 balls and 1-33 from two overs in Australia’s most recent T20 international against New Zealand in Auckland in late February, yet the Aussies’ surfeit of top-order options meant he was squeezed out of the 15.

Short, 28, was a travelling reserve for the start of last year’s one-day World Cup before flying home to focus on Sheffield Shield commitments for Victoria. Sangha remained with the Aussies for the duration of the tournament, albeit he did not receive a winner’s medal given he was outside the 15-man squad.

Australia has until Saturday to lock its 15-man squad for next month’s tournament in the West Indies and US. After that point, any changes must be approved by an ICC technical committee.

Any travelling reserves are therefore primarily on hand as backup for tournament-ending injuries.

It is unclear if Short is broadly ahead of Fraser-McGurk in the pecking order, although any call to include either man would clearly be dependent on which player is leaving the squad.

whether Short is first reserve or not, remains to be seen. Australia. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Fraser-McGurk is uncapped in T20 cricket but played a couple of one-dayers against the West Indies in February.

McDonald said earlier this month that he was optimistic about captain and all-rounder Marsh’s recovery despite a “slower than expected” rehabilitation.

Warner, for whom the World Cup will be an international swan song, was meanwhile in and out of the Delhi side as he battled the hand concern and middling form.

He was bypassed for the final match of the season, understood to still be troubled by the injury in the field.

Cameron Green – included in the 15 – has found touch in the latter stages of the IPL regular season, helping the Royal Challengers Bengaluru climb from the canvas and into the finals alongside Glenn Maxwell, who dropped himself from the XI after a horror run early in the campaign.

RBC will face Rajasthan in the early hours of Thursday morning in a knockout final, a day after Sunrisers Hyderabad (featuring Pat Cummins and Travis Head) take on Mitchell Starc’s Kolkata Knight Riders. Those two teams have a double chance.

Several of the Aussies whose sides qualified for the IPL playoffs will head straight to the Caribbean ahead of the team’s first warm-up match against Namibia in Trinidad next Wednesday.

Originally published as Mitchell Marsh and David Warner cleared for T20 World Cup as Australia confirms squad