Cricket Australia announced their 17-man Australian team on Wednesday for the World Test Championship Final (WTC Final 2023) match.
Marcus Harris, Josh Inglis, and Mitchell Marsh are the three players that shockingly received recalls for the highly anticipated Australia vs India, WTC final in Oval. Notably, Australian team selectors have not benched out-of-sort David Warner. However, Marcus Harris has been added to the team as a backup opener by CA.
The inclusion of all-rounder Mitchell Marsh, who hasn’t played Test cricket in four years, in the Australian team is undoubtedly the most unexpected.
Marsh went through a string of miserable summers due to injury. His recent white-ball performances against India and one first-class match this year, where he scored a quickfire century, though, emphasised his potential for changing the outcome of matches. Check complete details on Australia WTC 2023 final schedule and squad.
Australia World Test Championship Final squad
Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, David Warner.
WTC Final: Australia retained their core line-up
As anticipated, the national selection panel kept the starting lineup that helped Australia defeat India in the WTC Final for the past two years, with Marcus Harris serving as the backup opener to David Warner and Usman Khawaja.
In addition to the seam bowling of all-rounders Cameron Green and Marsh and the spin duo of Nathan Lyon and Todd Murphy, the squad has four specialist quicks in captain Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Scott Boland.
“The UK is a very different assignment from our most recent tour of India and some of the changes are based upon the conditions we are anticipating,” George Bailey said.
“Marcus, Josh and Mitch return to the squad and provide valuable depth and flexibility within their respective skill sets.”
“We see value in revisiting the squad following the second Ashes Test given the short turnaround between the WTC final and the first Ashes Test, along with the length of the tour,” he added.
WTC Final 2023: Date, Time, Venue
Date: Jun 07, Wed – Jun 11, Sun
Fixture: Australia vs India, Final
Venue: Kennington Oval, London
Time (IST): 2:30 PM
From June 7–11, Australia will play India in the World Test Championship final at the Oval before travelling to Edgbaston for the first Ashes Test against England from June 16–20.
As required by the ICC for the World Test Championship Final versus India at The Oval (June 7-11), the squad, which will gather in England in late May, will be reduced to 15 on May 28.
Following the announcement, the 17 players will start preparing for the first two Ashes Tests at Edgbaston (June 16–20) and Lord’s (June 28–July 2) before selectors change the lineup for the next three Ashes Tests at Headingley, Old Trafford, and The Oval.
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