Australia has named their 18-man squad for the upcoming T20I series in New Zealand starting in late February with Aaron Finch named as skipper.
The five-match series begins on 22 February and finishes on 7 March and coincides with Australia’s Test series in South Africa, meaning all players named in the Test squad were unavailable for selection in this series.
CA has confirmed that the Australian men’s T20I squad to tour New Zealand will not change irrespective of the outcome of discussions between CSA and CA regarding the Australian men’s Test tour of South Africa.
Full squad:
Aaron Finch (c) (Victoria)
Matthew Wade (vc) (Tasmania)
Ashton Agar (Western Australia)
Jason Behrendorff (Western Australia)
Mitchell Marsh (Western Australia)
Glenn Maxwell (Victoria)
Ben McDermott (Tasmania)
Riley Meredith (Tasmania)
Josh Philippe (Western Australia)
Jhye Richardson (Western Australia)
Kane Richardson (South Australia)
Daniel Sams (New South Wales)
Tanveer Sangha (New South Wales)
D’Arcy Short (Western Australia)
Marcus Stoinis (Western Australia)
Ashton Turner (Western Australia)
Andrew Tye (Western Australia)
Adam Zampa (New South Wales)
The Australian men’s T20 squad will be coached by Andrew McDonald.
Finch is coming off a dismal BBL campaign for the Melbourne Renegades where he averaged just 13.76 but has been a mainstay of Australia’s short form teams.
Wade was axed from the Test squad after a poor series against India but has been named vice-captain for this series.
19-year-old Tanveer Sangha is one of the feel good stories of the squad, with the young leg-spinner picked after an impressive BBL for the Sydney Thunder.
National Selector Trevor Hohns said the five-game series against the Black Caps would provide an excellent opportunity for several break-out performers from this year’s KFC Big Bash League to showcase their talents on the international stage, and to prepare for the ICC men’s T20 World Cup, to be played in India later this year.
“In a World Cup year, it’s exciting to select a squad that combines some of the biggest names in international T20 cricket with the best emerging players in the country,” Hohns said.
“We like the balance of this squad for what should be a thrilling series against the Black Caps.
“The batting line-up will be strengthened by the inclusion of Matt Wade, who joins fellow experienced internationals such as Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, D’Arcy Short and Ashton Turner.
“They will be complemented by some wonderful young talent in the form of Josh Philippe and Ben McDermott, both of whom have been in strong form this BBL campaign.
“We are fortunate to have some excellent all-rounders to choose from which is reflected in the selections of Mitch Marsh, Daniel Sams and Ashton Agar along with the likes of Maxwell and Stoinis.
“Adam Zampa has developed into one of the best spinners in international white ball cricket and we have been most impressed by Tanveer Sangha, who has been brilliant throughout the pathways and with the Sydney Thunder this season.
“We are similarly buoyant about our fast bowling stocks. Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith and Jason Behrendorff have all impressed during the BBL and Kane Richardson and Andrew Tye are proven performers on the international stage.”
