Shock axing, bolter named as Australia unveils T20 World Cup squad

Australian selectors have named an uncapped gloveman for the upcoming Men’s T20 World Cup, the one trophy Australia has never lifted.

Mitchell Starc (R) of Australia celebrates the dismissal of Kieron Pollard of West Indies during the 3rd and final ODI between West Indies and Australia at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados, on July 26, 2021. (Photo by Randy Brooks / AFP)

Australia has named West Australian wicketkeeper Josh Inglis in its 15-player squad for the upcoming Men’s T20 World Cup.

Inglis is yet to make his international debut, but has been selected for the World Cup as the reserve gloveman ahead of Alex Carey and Josh Philippe.

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Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, David Warner, Pat Cummins and Kane Richardson return to the squad after opting out of recent white-ball tours of the West Indies and Bangladesh, while Steve Smith has also been included despite his ongoing elbow injury.

Dan Christian, Nathan Ellis and Daniel Sams have been named as travelling reserves.

Carey, widely tipped as a future Test captain and a mainstay of Australia’s white-ball sides, has dropped further down the pecking order behind first-choice wicketkeeper Matthew Wade.

The South Australia endured a horror run of form during recent tours of the West Indies and Bangladesh, registering 57 runs in eight innings at a pitiful average of 8.14.

Philippe, who was named Player of the Big Bash League last summer, also failed to impress selectors over the winter, recording scores of 1, 13, 0, 9 and 10.

Moises Henriques, Riley Meredith, AJ Tye, Ashton Turner, Jason Behrendorff and Ben McDermott have also been axed from the national T20 side.

Josh Inglis represents London Spirit in The Hundred.

Inglis is coming off a breakthrough summer with the bat, scoring 413 runs in 16 innings to help the Perth Scorchers reach the Big Bash League final earlier this year.

The West Australian then plundered runs for fun over in England, smacking two centuries for Leicestershire in the Vitality Blast. He is currently the T20 competition’s highest run-scorer with 531 runs in 14 knocks at a formidable strike rate of 175.82.

“Josh has been on our radar for some time with his performances in white ball cricket and more recently in the Vitality Blast where he topped the run charts,” newly-appointed chair of selector George Bailey said in a statement.

“He offers the squad flexibility in the batting order with his adaptability, counterattacking ability and power striking. He is a player we are excited about for the future.”

Alex Carey, the man for so long viewed as the multi-format successor with gloves and possibly the captaincy, turns 30 next week. He is out of Australia's T20 squad, and with Josh Inglis surging there has to be an element of doubt about his timing in Test cricket too.

— Daniel Cherny 📰 (@DanielCherny) August 19, 2021

Australia will face South Africa, England, reigning champions the West Indies and two qualifiers in the group stage, which commences on Saturday, October 23.

Currently ranked sixth on the ICC men’s T20 rankings, the national side is coming off back-to-back 4-1 series defeats and has not won a bilateral T20 series since before the Covid-19 pandemic.

The World Cup was moved to the United Arab Emirates and Oman due to the Covid-19 situation in India, which forced the Indian Premier League to be postponed earlier this year.

Considering the spin-friendly conditions in the sub-continent, Australia has selected three strike spinners in Ashton Agar, Mitchell Swepson and Adam Zampa.

Earlier this month, Swepson claimed career-best figures of 3/12 in Australia’s only victory during the five-match series against Bangladesh.

“Mitchell has been impressive with the opportunities he has had,” Bailey said.

“Given the amount of cricket being played at the World Cup venues, we expect the wickets in the UAE to favour slow bowling, particularly in the latter stages, so he gives us another strong leg-spin option.”

With the exception of the newly-introduced World Test Championship, the men’s T20 World Cup is the only ICC trophy Australia has never lifted.

“We are confident this squad has the ability to take the side deep into what will be an extremely competitive tournament,” Bailey said.

“We have some of the best players in the world in their respective roles combined with the collective experience to succeed against the very best T20 sides in the world.”

The Australian squad will depart for the United Arab Emirates in late September or early October.

Steve Smith of Australia.

Australia T20 World Cup squad

Aaron Finch (c) (Victoria)

Ashton Agar (Western Australia)

Pat Cummins (vc) (New South Wales)

Josh Hazlewood (New South Wales)

Josh Inglis (Western Australia)

Mitchell Marsh (Western Australia)

Glenn Maxwell (Victoria)

Kane Richardson (South Australia)

Steve Smith (New South Wales)

Mitchell Starc (New South Wales)

Marcus Stoinis (Western Australia)

Mitchell Swepson (Queensland)

Matthew Wade (Tasmania)

David Warner (New South Wales)

Adam Zampa (New South Wales)

Australia’s T20 World Cup schedule

October 23 – Australia vs South Africa (2pm local time, 9pm AEDT)

October 28 – Australia vs Qualifier A1 (6pm local time, 1am Oct 29 AEDT)

October 30 – Australia vs England (6pm local time, 1am Oct 31 AEDT)

November 4 – Australia vs Qualifier B2 (2pm local time, 9pm AEDT)

November 6 – Australia vs West Indies (2pm local time, 9pm AEDT)