Last Updated on 6 months by Charbel Coorey
Australia are back in action for the first time since the T20 World Cup. They take on Scotland in three T20Is in Edinburgh before travelling to England for three T20Is and five ODIs.
There are new faces in the Australian squad. Jake Fraser-McGurk is set to replace the recently-retired David Warner, while young gun Cooper Connolly was also selected.
Australia possible playing XI for 1st T20I against Scotland at Edinburgh
1. Travis Head, 2. Jake Fraser-McGurk, 3. Mitchell Marsh (c), 4. Cameron Green, 5. Josh Inglis (wk), 6. Marcus Stoinis/Cooper Connolly, 7. Tim David, 8. Xavier Bartlett, 9. Nathan Ellis, 10. Adam Zampa, 11. Riley Meredith
With Pat Cummins (rested), Mitchell Starc (rested) and Josh Hazlewood (injured) all unavailable, Nathan Ellis will lead the attack.
“This was one of the series that I had earmarked for a long period of time knowing the schedule and the demand it would have on a lot of the guys,” Ellis told cricket.com.au.
“Any time I get the Aussie jersey on I’m pumped, so the longer I can keep wearing it the better.”
Australia have other options for the pace attack in the possible XI against Scotland. Xavier Bartlett was excellent against West Indies last summer. Sean Abbott is the other experienced option, but Australia could go with Riley Meredith given he’s picked just for the Scotland games.
Also, it will be interesting to see whether Australia go for experienced options in the middle order or hand Connolly a debut. If he does play, it could be over Marcus Stoinis or Tim David. This is a good opportunity to give the youngster a chance.
The first match will be just the second time Australia and Scotland meet in a T20I. They played in the T20 World Cup earlier this year. Scotland nearly pulled off a win, which would have seen them progress to the next stage.
Australia squad for T20Is against Scotland: Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood (England games only), Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Riley Meredith (Scotland games only), Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa