Last Updated on 5 minutes ago by Charbel Coorey
One Day International (ODI) cricket has taken a backseat for Australia since winning the 2023 World Cup. The Australians have played plenty of Test cricket and featured in two T20 World Cups since, meaning their top players have rarely been available for ODIs.
Australia have played 28 ODIs since that special day in Ahmedabad, but only five players have played in more than 15 of them. Pat Cummins has only played two, while Marnus Labuschagne (23 matches) and Matt Short (21) are not in the squads for the Zimbabwe and South Africa matches.
In addition, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis have retired from the format. So it leaves Australia with work to do ahead of next year’s World Cup, with just 12 12 ODIs pencilled into the calendar.
Do both Josh Inglis and Alex Carey make Australia’s first-choice ODI team?
One of the most pressing questions is the makeup of the middle order. Maxwell’s retirement leaves Australia needing a finisher, and there is no obvious solution looking at the squads for the Africa tour.
One proposition is having both Josh Inglis and Alex Carey in the XI. The duo combined for an outstanding 146-run stand against England in the Champions Trophy in Lahore last year, but the importance of the Marsh-Head opening combination, emergence of Oliver Peake and Cooper Connolly, and Matt Renshaw’s improvement makes the team balance a tricky one to nail. Joel Davies is another option with his all-round skill.
According to CODE Sports, Carey is not a lock in the XI. Inglis strikes at 100.72 in ODIs and was preferred during the 2023 World Cup. However, Carey can have a vital role to play down the order, as he showed in the 2024 tour of England.
“Yeah it’s certainly there,” Carey said in August regarding his desire to nail down a place in the ODI XI.
“I guess for me, I take good confidence in playing as a batter in that group as well. I know the last series (against Pakistan and Bangladesh) didn’t go our way, but once you get the full squad together (it’s a different story).”
If Inglis and Carey both play, then it will likely be between Oliver Peake and Matt Renshaw for the final spot in the top seven. Who bats where is another interesting question for the selectors, with Cameron Green tried both in the top order and middle-lower order in ODIs.
With future-planning a key topic in recent times, Australia will well-served handing Peake opportunities during this tour. Time will tell as to whether that is the case right away on Tuesday in Harare.
Australia possible XI for 1st ODI against Zimbabwe: 1. Travis Head, 2. Mitchell Marsh (c), 3. Cooper Connolly, 4. Cameron Green, 5. Josh Inglis (wk), 6. Alex Carey, 7. Oliver Peake/Matt Renshaw, 8. Nathan Ellis, 9. Josh Hazlewood, 10. Adam Zampa, 11. Spencer Johnson
