Jake Fraser-McGurk might make his T20I debut on Tuesday after being included to Australia’s team for the last match against the West Indies in Perth.
Fraser-McGurk and South Australia fast Wes Agar will join the squad, with Josh Hazlewood returning home after the second game in Adelaide to prepare for the New Zealand tour.
Xavier Bartlett had already been added to the Perth team, giving him a decent chance to make his T20I debut in lieu of Hazlewood following a strong start to his ODI career, including consecutive four-wicket hauls against the West Indies.
Fraser-McGurk also made his ODI debut in that series, impressing with his aggressive attitude, particularly in Canberra, when he hammered 41 off 18 balls.
Australia’s selectors may decide to rest other players in Perth, perhaps opening the way for Fraser-McGurk. There is the intriguing potential of him and Glenn Maxwell playing in the same XI, though Maxwell may be forced to sit out after revealing that the initial plan was for him to relax in Adelaide before talking the selectors around and racking up a 50-ball hundred in front of his parents.
“Originally I was supposed to not be playing, I was going to be rested,” Maxwell said. “I sort of talked them into [it by going,] ‘Yeah, I wouldn’t mind playing this one, my family’s going to be here’, so they changed their mind, which was nice. I just thought, ‘Imagine if I was rested for this game, they made the effort to come over here’, but they had a Barossa tour yesterday so they were pretty happy.”
Aaron Hardie, who plays for Western Australia, is also on the team but has not yet appeared in the series and would be a popular choice among the home crowd.
Australia has plenty of top-order batting options in white-ball cricket, therefore Fraser-McGurk, who smashed a world-record 29-ball one-day century earlier this season, is not in contention for this year’s T20 World Cup, but his development is being constantly observed.
“We feel like we’ve got some pretty good options at the top of the order in that T20 side,” national selector George Bailey said last week. “Even then there’s a couple of other guys who have batted in the middle or have batted at the top in T20 cricket who can cover as well. The talent’s there [with Fraser-McGurk], he’s one we’re certainly keeping a close eye on.”
Travis Head and Steven Smith will rejoin to the T20I team for the New Zealand tour, while Matt Short is also expected to join after missing the West Indies matches due to injury, with Head presently preferred to partner David Warner at the top for the World Cup.
Meanwhile, Agar has already played two ODIs against the West Indies in 2021. He collected two wickets in four BBL matches for Adelaide Strikers before being dropped. His state, South Australia, where Fraser-McGurk also plays, is not in contention for the Marsh Cup final, which will be played the day after the Perth T20I.
Lance Morris (side), Nathan Ellis (rib), and Sean Abbott (shoulder) are presently out due to injury; however, Ellis is expected to return for the New Zealand series. Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc have been rested for the series.
For the latest updates and comprehensive coverage on this developing story, visit CricAdvisor – your ultimate cricket companion.
