Australia squad for England tour 2020: Usman Khawaja and Marcus Stoinis part of 26-member preliminary squad

Australia squad for England tour 2020: Australia have named a 26-member preliminary squad for their potential tour of England in September.

Australia have included batsman Usman Khawaja and all-rounder Marcus Stoinis into their 26-member preliminary squad for their upcoming tour of England in September. Both players were part of Australia’s 2019 World Cup squad but didn’t play white-ball cricket after below par returns in the world event.

After pinning down Shaun Marsh for the No. 3 spot, Khawaja had scored 316 runs in nine ODIs at an average of 35.11 and a strike rate of 88.26 including a couple of half-centuries.

ALSO READ: Ashley Giles confident of hosting Australia in September

On the other hand, Stoinis’ World Cup campaign saw him scoring 87 runs in seven innings at an average of 14.50 and a strike rate of 76.99. His eight wickets had come at an economy rate of 6.10 and a strike rate of 34.2. Apart from getting dropped, the two players also lost out on national contracts.

Australia squad for England tour 2020

Other than Khawaja and Stoinis, other high-profile inclusions are that of Test specialists Nathan Lyon and Travis Head. While Lyon was also part of Australia’s World Cup squad, Head had last played white-ball cricket during the home series against South Africa in 2018.

Wicket-keeper batsman Ben McDermott and pacer Michael Neser, who have played 12 T20Is and two ODIs respectively for Australia, also finds a place in the preliminary squad.

“This preliminary list covers the contingencies of playing one-day internationals and T20 internationals in bio-secure hubs with the likely prospect of not being able to bring in replacements should the tour proceed.

“The preliminary list includes several exciting young players who have recently excelled at state level and in the BBL. These emerging players are among those we would like to develop further as we believe they have a bright future in Australian cricket. The preliminary list also has a view towards the upcoming T20 World Cup and in the longer term the 2023 World Cup,” Australia selection chairman Trevor Hohns said in a statement.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CBxBWnECa3_/?igshid=syj4chwtt2ac

The likes of batsman Joshua Philippe, pacer Riley Meredith and all-rounder Daniel Sams, all of whom have been doing well in the domestic circuit, will also fight for maiden appearances in the national squad this September.

Australia 26-member preliminary squad for England tour

Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Michael Neser, Josh Philippe, Daniel Sams, D’Arcy Short, Kane Richardson, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

Read More