Australia has included Marnus Labuschagne in their World Cup squad as an injury substitution for Ashton Agar. Travis Head retains his position despite his own injury, with the expectation that he will be available by the middle of the tournament.
Squad: Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Marsh, David Warner, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa
Left-arm spinner Agar was chosen as one of two frontline spinners in the priliminary roster named on September 6. During his tour of South Africa, he sustained a calf injury and returned home to give birth to his first child. Consequently, he did not play in the series in India.
Labuschange, who was brought back for the ODIs in South Africa, led the scoring with 283 runs in five games at an average of 70.75 and added 138 runs at 46 in three games in India.
Australia decided to retain Head in the squad despite the South Australian sustaining a fractured hand in the fourth one-day international against South Africa and being some distance from match readiness. “This was a difficult decision, but injuries prevented us from bringing both Travis and Ashton to the tournament,” chief of selectors George Bailey said.
“We have made the decision to carry Travis through the early stages with the aim of him being available around the mid part of the tournament. He has been a really important player in this ODI team and we are hopeful his return can provide a positive impetus as it gets to the business end of the tournament.
“Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell are progressing well through the rehabilitation of their respective injuries and it was pleasing to see them return to the playing eleven last night,” he added.
Matt Short and Tanveer Sangha, who participated in the India tour, will remain with the squad at least until the conclusion of the warm-up matches. Australia begins its pursuit of a sixth ODI World Cup title with a match against India on October 8 in Chennai.
