Pacer Riley Meredith has received a call-up into Australia’s squad for the third ODI against England in Melbourne as a replacement for star bowler Mitchell Starc.
Starc will stay back in Sydney to rest ahead of the first Test against West Indies next week. Ashton Agar will not be part of the final ODI. Agar left the squad to head to Canberra ahead of the four-day pink-ball Prime Minister’s XI match against West Indies starting on Wednesday.
According to the ESPNcricinfo, Pat Cummins is likely to return to the side as skipper having rested from Saturday’s win over England in Sydney.
The only paceman at Monday’s optional practice at the chilly and soggy Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) was Meredith, who has played in one ODI and five T20Is. He has had a strong season start in domestic cricket, bagging two five-wicket hauls and a four-wicket haul across eight Marsh Cup and Sheffield Shield games this summer. He is still very much a part of Australia’s long-term white-ball ambitions.
Despite Glenn Maxwell being pulled out of the series, Australia does already have Sean Abbott in the lineup for Melbourne. After Joel Paris, a left-arm swing bowler from Western Australia was flown to Canberra to join the PM’s XI squad as Abbott’s replacement, he appears likely to play in Tuesday’s dead rubber.
While Cameron Green was flown home to relax before the Tests, Josh Inglis, who will captain the PM’s XI on Wednesday, joined the ODI team in Sydney. Josh Inglis is still in Melbourne, but he spent the majority of his net session indoors facing pink balls.
Australia ODI squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner and Adam Zampa.
England ODI squad: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Olly Stone, James Vince, David Willey, Chris Woakes and Luke Wood. (ANI)
This report is filed by ANI news service. TheNewsMill holds no responsibility for this content.
