Australia releases the West Indies series squads: Renshaw was recalled in Tests, Green confirmed, and Smith was named ODI skipper
Bancroft and Harris were left out in the cold as Renshaw was given a Test lifeline as the lone alteration in a 13-man team for the two-Test series.
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Selectors announced on Wednesday that Australian all-rounder Cameron Green will lead off the opening Test match against the West Indies. It is unclear, though, who will take David Warner’s spot as the opener.After being a mainstay at the top of the order for 12 years, Warner withdrew from the five-day match this past weekend following the last Test match against Pakistan in Sydney.
Prior to Steve Smith declaring last week that he wished to take on the role, established openers Matt Renshaw, Marcus Harris, and Cameron Bancroft were long considered the front-runners for the position.
With just one alteration to his 13-man team for the two Test series that begins in Adelaide on January 17, Renshaw was given a lifeline in the form of a Test, leaving Bancroft and Harris behind.Chief selector George Bailey, however, stated that Green, who has recently been pushed out of the team by a resurgent Mitchell Marsh, will undoubtedly play.
That would put him in at number four, where he often plays for Western Australia, or at the start of the innings.
In that case, Smith could bat first, and Renshaw would be the backup hitter, according to extensive reports from the local media.
In Test cricket, neither Smith nor Green have ever opened.
“Cameron Green will come into the playing XI for the Test in Adelaide in a squad also containing Scott Boland and Matthew Renshaw,” Bailey stated.
“We have selected a team we believe contains the best six batters in the country.”
Bancroft, the Sheffield Shield’s top run scorer the past two seasons, has suffered a serious setback as a result of Renshaw’s participation. Renshaw is four years younger at 27.
Another question is whether pace leaders Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc—who participated in all three Test matches against Pakistan—can sustain themselves for a further two.
Boland will take over if selectors opt to rest one of them.
In the ODIs, Steve Smith will lead while Cummins rested.
In addition, a 13-man team led by Smith—with Cummins rested—was announced by the selectors for the one-day series against the West Indies that comes just after the Tests.
Hazlewood, Marsh, and Starc will also miss the three games.
“The squad strikes a balance between players continuing to make their mark on international cricket, playing alongside some of our most experienced players with an eye to the future in this format,” Bailey said about the one-day squad.
Pat Cummins (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchel Marsh, Matt Renshaw, Steve Smith, and Mitchell Starc make up the Australia test team for the West Indies series.
Steve Smith (captain), Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson, Matt Short, and Adam Zampa are the members of the Australia ODI team for the West Indies series.
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