Australia Announce 17-Man Squad For WTC 2023 Final vs India; Pat Cummins to Lead
Melbourne: Allrounder Mitchell Marsh is back in the frame for Test cricket for the first time in four years having been named in Australia’s 17-man squad for the World Test Championship Final and the start of the subsequent battle for the famous urn.
Marsh has endured several frustrating summers battling injury but performances in his sole first-class outing of the season (a rapid-fire century against Tasmania) and in the white-ball formats against India more recently underscored his potential to swing the outcome of matches.
World Test Championship Final and Men’s Ashes squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, David Warner
As expected, the national selection panel has retained the core line-up that carried Australia to the WTC Final against India through consistent performances over the past two years, with Marcus Harris included as the auxiliary opener behind David Warner and Usman Khawaja.
The squad includes four specialist quicks – captain Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Scott Boland – supplemented by the seam bowling of allrounders Cameron Green and Marsh, as well as spin pair Nathan Lyon and Todd Murphy.
The squad, which will assemble in England in late May, will be trimmed to 15 on May 28 as per ICC requirements for the World Test Championship Final against India at The Oval (June 7-11).
The 17 players named today will then begin preparations for the first two Tests of the subsequent Ashes campaign at Edgbaston (June 16-20) and Lord’s (June 28-July 2) before selectors revise the group for the last three Ashes Tests at Headingley, Old Trafford and The Oval.
(With cricket.com.au inputs)