logo
Owen earns Australia squad spots for South Africa short-format series

Owen earns Australia squad spots for South Africa short-format series

Khaleej Timesa day ago
Mitch Owen has been rewarded for his fine form in his first five Twenty20 internationals by being named in both of Australia's squads for short-format series against South Africa in the far north of the country next month.
The 23-year-old all-rounder, who has yet to play a one-day international, scored 125 runs and took two wickets as Australia swept West Indies in all five T20s in the Caribbean this month.
Mitch Marsh captains both T20 and ODI squads in the absence of regular 50-overs skipper Pat Cummins, who will sit out the series with fellow quick Mitch Starc.
Paceman Josh Hazlewood and batter Travis Head return to both squads as Australia continue their preparations for the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka early next year.
Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell have both retired from ODIs but the latter was named in the T20 squad, which will face South Africa in two matches in Darwin and another in Cairns.
"As we build towards the T20 World Cup the flexibility and depth shown in the West Indies, outside of the obvious results, has been a huge positive," said chief selector George Bailey.
"The flexibility within the batting order and ability of bowlers to bowl in different stages of the innings were particularly pleasing to see."
Wicketkeeper Alex Carey and top-order batsman Marnus Labuschagne were included in the ODI squad only, along with fast bowlers Xavier Bartlett and Lance Morris.
The ODI series takes place after the completion of the T20s, kicking off in Cairns with the last two matches at the Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay.
T20 Squad: Mitchell Marsh (captain), Sean Abbott, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matt Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Owen, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa.
ODI Squad: Mitchell Marsh (captain), Xavier Bartlett, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Lance Morris, Mitchell Owen, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Tsitsipas brings father back as coach after Ivanisevic split
Tsitsipas brings father back as coach after Ivanisevic split

Khaleej Times

time4 hours ago

  • Khaleej Times

Tsitsipas brings father back as coach after Ivanisevic split

Stefanos Tsitsipas has brought his father Apostolos back as coach after ending his brief partnership with Goran Ivanisevic, the former world number three said. Tsitsipas, 26, ended his collaboration with Ivanisevic, who helped Novak Djokovic claim nine of his 24 Grand Slam titles, last week after less than two months. Tsitsipas, the 2021 French Open and 2023 Australian Open runner-up, has tumbled to 30th in the world rankings and has failed to get beyond the second round in the first three Grand Slams of the season. Following Tsitsipas' first-round exit at Wimbledon, Ivanisevic delivered a scathing assessment of the Greek, saying he had "never seen a more unprepared player" in his life. His title win in Dubai in February is the only final he has reached in 2025. "Some journeys have a way of circling back to where they began," Tsitsipas, who lost to Christopher O'Connell in the second round of the Canadian Open on Wednesday, posted on social media. "After some time apart, I've reunited with the person who first believed in me - my father. "I'm grateful to share the court and the road ahead with him once again. We've been through every chapter of this journey together, and this next one feels right.

Australia captain nominates hardest teams to beat at World Cup  ICC Women's Cricket World Cup, 2025
Australia captain nominates hardest teams to beat at World Cup  ICC Women's Cricket World Cup, 2025

Int'l Cricket Council

time9 hours ago

  • Int'l Cricket Council

Australia captain nominates hardest teams to beat at World Cup ICC Women's Cricket World Cup, 2025

Healy plans to make her comeback to keeping during the ODI portion of the upcoming series with India A and has tweaked her technique behind the stumps slightly to help her ailing body. "I haven't actually kept in a competitive game since January and that's given me a little bit of time to tinker with a few things and make it a little bit easier on my body," Healy said. "We've been taught how to wicketkeep a certain way in this country for an extended period of time, and at the end of the day it's not overly efficient on our bodies and doing it at 35, it's not ideal. "We've just been looking at ways to make it a little bit easier for my aging joints and trying to keep things moving the way they should. "Without getting overly technical, (I've just adjusted) where I'm starting from, more than anything else. "You won't notice anything different, just not getting as low as what I used to, to hopefully help the knee, help the foot and keep me out there a little bit longer."

Pakistan showed pragmatism by recalling Shaheen Afridi and resisting major changes after Bangladesh T20 defeat
Pakistan showed pragmatism by recalling Shaheen Afridi and resisting major changes after Bangladesh T20 defeat

The National

time12 hours ago

  • The National

Pakistan showed pragmatism by recalling Shaheen Afridi and resisting major changes after Bangladesh T20 defeat

Shaheen Afridi has been recalled to Pakistan's T20I squad for a three-match series against West Indies which begins in Florida on Friday. Widely seen as the country's best fast bowler over the past five years, Shaheen was struggling to find rhythm in the recent T20 Internationals. For that reason, he was either rested or dropped for Pakistan's last two T20 series (at home and away against Bangladesh). Shaheen had an alarming dip in his form in the format. Post T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA, the left-arm quick took just six wickets at an average of 49.83 and went wicketless in six of the nine T20Is. However, after his Pakistan Super League heroics, where he led his team Lahore Qalandars to a third PSL title in four years and finished as the tournament's top wicket-taker with 19 scalps at an economy rate of 7.76, it was just a matter of time before he was recalled into the side. Shaheen's knack for striking early was on display in the recent PSL as he claimed five wickets in the first over of the innings and went at just 5.58 per over. Notably, 10 of his 19 wickets came during the last four must-win matches, underlining his ability to deliver under pressure. As Shaheen is a new-ball specialist, his return has come at the expense of losing Salman Mirza, another Lahore Qalandars new-ball bowler, who in his debut T20I series against Bangladesh grabbed seven wickets in three matches with an economy of 5.21. In most teams, such squad rotations are seen as routine. But in Pakistan, where recency bias often overrides long-term thinking and emotion-driven decisions can complicate selection, this sparked a debate. In fact, reactions on social media would make one believe Pakistan had dropped a legend like Wasim Akram. Such overreactions highlight why players in Pakistan are reluctant to rest and often continue playing without their workload being managed because newcomers can get preference after performing in low-stakes series. Though Mirza's seven wickets came against a 10th ranked team and on substandard pitches, the possibility of him and Shaheen bowling together for Pakistan in the near-future cannot be ruled out, especially considering the lack of new-ball bowling options in the country. Since the start of 2024, Pakistan's opening bowlers have gone at 8.09 an over, the worst analysis for a Test playing nation in men's T20 Internationals. Pakistan's economy in powerplay during this period is also third worst (8.70), behind only West Indies (9.06) and England (9.42). A major factor behind Pakistan's poor numbers at the start of the innings is use of part-time bowlers or those who are in the team due to bowling being their secondary skill. Under the new leadership of head coach Mike Hesson and captain Salman Agha, Pakistan have played six T20Is, all of which featured the new ball being shared by bowlers selected primarily for their batting: Saim Ayub, Faheem Ashraf and Agha himself. The trio of Saim, Faheem and Agha also bowled 15 out of 36 overs in the powerplay in the recent six T20Is. Faheem accounted for 17 wickets in the recent PSL, so there can be an argument that he qualifies as a bowler, but it must not be forgotten that those 17 wickets came with an economy of 11.19, the worst among 28 bowlers in the tournament who bowled at least 20 overs. For years, Pakistan have been labeled as a conservative batting side in the powerplay. That idea is beginning to change with the introduction of aggressive batters like Saim, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Haris and Hasan Nawaz. But there is a risk that, while modernising their batting, Pakistan may now become a defensive bowling side if underpowered bowlers continue to bowl in the powerplay. The hope is that the 41 per cent of overs bowled by weaker bowlers during powerplay is only an experiment rather than a long-term strategy. With a packed T20 schedule ahead, the management and the selectors do have room to try combinations. That flexibility may also explain why the batting unit wasn't overhauled despite the recent series defeat in Bangladesh. It is worth noting that some of the best sides like Australia, England and New Zealand have struggled in Bangladesh in recent years due to the slow and low pitches. Bangladesh's home conditions have faced repeated criticism for stifling batting development, which is evident from their record as the third-best home side and second-worst away team over the last four years. For once, Pakistan selectors and management deserve credit for showing restraint. They resisted the urge to make reactionary changes, stuck with the new attacking batting group and reinstated experienced bowlers like Shaheen and Haris Rauf. That patience might again be tested in Florida. In the recent edition of Major League Cricket, the average first innings total in Florida was just 147, significantly lower than the 190-plus average totals in Dallas and Oakland (San Francisco). For Pakistan, that means the upcoming series could be another tough test but also an opportunity to finalise their best squad before marquee events like the Asia Cup in the UAE and the T20 World Cup early next year.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store