Australia Call Up Cummins, Marsh And Wade

Australia Call Up Cummins, Marsh And Wade

Matthew Wade (right) earns his chance to impress following an injury to Tim Paine and Brad Haddin's retirement

©REUTERS / Action Images

Australia have named uncapped players Patrick Cummins, Mitchell Marsh and Matthew Wade in their 14-man squad to play two Twenty20 Internationals in South Africa.

Cummins is also included in the squad to play three One-Day Internationals in October, replacing the injured John Hastings while Wade gets his chance due to Tim Paine's finger injury and Brad Haddin's retirement from Twenty20 International cricket.

Mitchell Johnson, however, has been left out of the Twenty20 squad and is replaced by fellow left-arm fast bowler Doug Bollinger, as the selectors feel Johnson takes time to reach his peak during tours.

David Hussey has been omitted from the ODI squad following what the selectors say was a disappointing performance in Sri Lanka which gives an opportunity to David Warner in his place.

Marsh, 19, joins elder brother Shaun in the Twenty20 squad having impressed while playing for Western Australia, Deccan Chargers, Pune Warriors and Australia Under-19s and with Cummins, 18, is already being viewed as one of his country's brightest prospects.

Cummins is yet to take a wicket in one-day cricket and has only nine wickets in three first-class games for New South Wales.

"We consider we have picked an extremely strong Twenty20 squad, which has a good balance of experience and exciting young talent. There is flexibility in the squad to deal with conditions in South Africa as we continue to prepare for the ICC World Twenty20, which is only a year away," National Selection Panel (NSP) Chairman Andrew Hilditch said.

"The retirement of Brad Haddin from International Twenty20 and the injury to Tim Paine, has given a well-deserved opportunity to Matthew Wade. Matthew is an extremely exciting keeper batsman who is very well equipped for Twenty20 cricket and we think he will have an immediate impact on the international scene.

"John Hastings was unavailable through injury. This has given a great opportunity to Patrick Cummins to come into the Twenty20 squad. Patrick is a very exciting fast bowler and was one of the youngest players ever to receive an Australian contract this year. We are very confident he will succeed at international level.

"The squad also sees the addition of Mitchell Marsh, an extremely talented and exciting all-rounder. Mitchell played extremely well on the recent Australia A tour of Zimbabwe and his all-round skills with bat and ball are well suited to Twenty20 cricket. We think he’s ready for the international stage.

"Mitchell Johnson was not selected for the Twenty20 squad. Mitchell has struggled in this format of the game to date. Most Twenty20 internationals have been at the start of tours and Mitchell has not always been at his best in these matches.

"Obviously Mitchell has a great skill set for Twenty20 cricket and we are sure he will put a lot of pressure on us to pick him in the future in the Twenty20 team. His place has gone to Doug Bollinger, who is very experienced in this form of the game and his consistent performances in Twenty20 cricket have led to him forcing his way into the side.

"With respect to the One-day squad, Australia has continued to be the number one ranked team in one day cricket over a lengthy period of time. The team’s performance in the One-day series in Sri Lanka was fantastic, but there have been two changes to that squad.

"John Hastings is injured and Patrick Cummins has been added to the One-day squad. It is an extremely exciting time in Australian cricket to see such young talent forcing its way into the Australian squads.

"Unfortunately David Hussey has been omitted from the One-day squad.  David was picked for Sri Lanka as we thought he would be very well suited to the conditions, being an excellent player of spin bowling and having the ability to bowl valuable overs of spin. 

"We did not think that David quite took his opportunity in Sri Lanka and his place has been taken by David Warner.  David’s form has been irresistible recently and he deserves this opportunity in the one day squad.

"The NSP would like to take the opportunity to congratulate the Australian players for their series victories in both the ODIs and Test matches in Sri Lanka. There are few harder assignments in world cricket than playing Sri Lanka on their home soil and the results were really a great credit to the playing group.

"As we stated before the Sri Lankan tour, there was a quiet optimism about the group having come off three extremely good training camps prior to the tour. Tim Nielsen and his coaching group have worked tirelessly since the disappointment of the Ashes and the coaching group together with the leadership and the playing group should be congratulated on their efforts in Sri Lanka. It is a very positive sign for the future of Australian cricket."

Australia Twenty20 International squad: Cameron White (captain), Shane Watson (vice-captain), Doug Bollinger, Patrick Cummins, Aaron Finch, David Hussey, Brett Lee, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Stephen O'Keefe, James Pattinson, Steven Smith, Matthew Wade, David Warner

Australia One-Day International squad: Michael Clarke (captain), Shane Watson (vice-captain), Doug Bollinger, Patrick Cummins, Xavier Doherty, Brad Haddin, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Shaun Marsh, James Pattinson, Ricky Ponting, Steven Smith, David Warner

© Cricket World 2011