Courtesy: Google
On Thursday, January 9, Australia announced a 16-member squad for their upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka in Galle. Steve Smith is going to captain the Australian cricket team in the absence of Pat Cummins, who will be staying home for the birth of his second child and recovering from his ankle injury, while the selectors have also given a first call up to the 21-year-old all-round cricketer Cooper Connolly in the longest format of the game.
Notably, Josh Hazlewood, one of the premier fast bowlers in world cricket, who missed out on the last two Test matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series at home against India due to a calf injury, has been rested for the tour to Sri Lanka. One of the surprises of the squad was the recall of opening batter Nathan McSweeney, who was dropped from the BGT after poor performances in the first three Test matches of his international career.
Travis Head has become vice-captain as Steve Smith is given captaincy of Australia
The Australian chairman of selectors George Bailey spoke to the media about his team selections for the Test tour to Sri Lanka, and said, as per ESPNcricinfo, “Sri Lanka is a challenging and exciting place to tour given the different conditions the players may experience. This squad provides several ways to structure the XI depending on what type of wickets they may encounter in each match.”
“We are excited about the opportunity ahead for the squad members who are at the start of their Test careers to continue to grow their games in subcontinent conditions where we have a number of important tours in coming years,” he further remarked. Moreover, Australia have also bolstered their spin bowling attack since the pitches in Galle, where both the Test will be played, is traditionally known to assist spin bowlers far more than the pacers.
The likes of Todd Murphy and Matt Kuhnemann will be the other two spinners in the Australian squad alongside veteran Nathan Lyon, with the first Test beginning on January 29, while the second Test will start on February 6.
Below is the Australian squad for the two Test match series in Sri Lanka:
Steven Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Travis Head (vc), Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Nathan McSweeney, Todd Murphy, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster
