Khawaja, Siddle recalled to Australia one-day squad
AFP, Sydney :
Veterans Usman Khawaja, Peter Siddle, and Nathan Lyon were Friday recalled to a revamped Australian one-day squad to play India with an eye on the World Cup in England later this year.
After a poor run in the limited overs format, selectors ruthlessly axed Travis Head, Chris Lynn, D’Arcy Short, Ben McDermott and allrounder Ashton Agar.
Bowling spearheads Mitch Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins are missing after being ordered to rest and prepare for two upcoming Tests against Sri Lanka.
National selector Trevor Hohns said that after Australia lost to South Africa 2-1 at the start of the summer, a change was needed to turn things around.
“With this in mind and the World Cup looming, we’ve selected players we feel provide us with the flexibility to play a variety of roles at different stages of a match,” he said.
“The upcoming three-match series against India and the ODI tours of India and the UAE are important windows to put this into practice and to build a squad to help defend our World Cup title.”
Seamer Siddle’s return was a surprise. He played his last one-day international in November 2010, but gets another chance with the country’s top fast bowlers unavailable.
He will lead the attack alongside Jhye Richardson, Jason Behrendorff, and Billy Stanlake.
Veterans Usman Khawaja, Peter Siddle, and Nathan Lyon were Friday recalled to a revamped Australian one-day squad to play India with an eye on the World Cup in England later this year.
After a poor run in the limited overs format, selectors ruthlessly axed Travis Head, Chris Lynn, D’Arcy Short, Ben McDermott and allrounder Ashton Agar.
Bowling spearheads Mitch Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins are missing after being ordered to rest and prepare for two upcoming Tests against Sri Lanka.
National selector Trevor Hohns said that after Australia lost to South Africa 2-1 at the start of the summer, a change was needed to turn things around.
“With this in mind and the World Cup looming, we’ve selected players we feel provide us with the flexibility to play a variety of roles at different stages of a match,” he said.
“The upcoming three-match series against India and the ODI tours of India and the UAE are important windows to put this into practice and to build a squad to help defend our World Cup title.”
Seamer Siddle’s return was a surprise. He played his last one-day international in November 2010, but gets another chance with the country’s top fast bowlers unavailable.
He will lead the attack alongside Jhye Richardson, Jason Behrendorff, and Billy Stanlake.
