Australia have dropped Glenn Maxwell from the ODI squad, while recalling hard-hitting batsman Chris Lynn, alongside uncapped pacers Jhye Richardson and Andrew Tye, for the five-match series against England starting January 14 in Melbourne.
While Maxwell has hit a purple patch in the long-form cricket, leading the Sheffield Shield batting charts with 590 runs in nine outings at an average over 73, his one-day form has been patchy over the last one year. The 29-year-old all-rounder hit his last half-century - 78 against Pakistan at the SCG - in January 2017 and was later also dropped during the ODI series in India. National selector Trevor Hohns outlined his lack of consistency in the format as the major reason behind the omission.
"No-one is in any doubt about Glenn's ability or his potential to produce match-winning contributions with the bat. What we have wanted from him is more consistency but in his past 20 matches in this format he has averaged 22 and we need more than that from a player in the side's batting engine room," Hohns said on Wednesday (January 3).
Hohns reiterated that Maxwell can still earn his way back into the team, but for now Australia have decided to consider other promising options. Lynn, back after a shoulder surgery, is set to make his ODI comeback after having last played in the same series against Pakistan at home about 12 months ago.
"Glenn is still absolutely in our thoughts but for this series we have decided to look again at Chris Lynn, who is now back playing once more after the shoulder injury that hampered him when we picked him against Pakistan in this format 12 months ago. He has been one of the most feared players at domestic level in limited-overs cricket in the past couple of years and we want to see if he can convert that domestic form to the international stage."
Lynn has been at his best in T20 cricket recently and produced his season-best 63 not out, off 46 balls, on Tuesday to propel Brisbane Heat to a nine-wicket win over Melbourne Stars.
Meanwhile, Tim Paine replaces Matthew Wade as Australia's first-choice wicketkeeper across formats. Paine, who was handed over the keeping duties in the ongoing Ashes and T20Is in February last summer, returns to the 50-over format after a gap of over six years, having last played in Bangladesh in April 2011.
"Tim forced his way into the Twenty20 International squad last summer, and after coming back into the Test squad at the beginning of the Ashes series he has made a terrific contribution with bat and gloves," Hohns said. "He deserves his opportunity in this form of the game and the challenge for Matthew (Wade) is to return to the type of form that saw him score a one-day international hundred against Pakistan last summer."
Western Australian pace duo of Richardson and Tye have been rewarded for their stellar performances in the domestic competitions and included in the squad alongside the experienced pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins. Richardson was the leading wicket-taker in Australia's domestic One-Day Cup with 13 scalps in seven games in WA's successful season, while Tye is currently leading the BBL bowling charts with 13 wickets, including a hat-trick, from four games for Perth Scorchers.
"The good thing is we have plenty of depth in the fast bowling department in this squad, with Jhye Richardson and Andrew Tye also included," Hons said of the bowling resources. "Jhye featured in the Twenty20 International series against Sri Lanka last summer, is someone we have had our eyes on for a while and he is the complete package: he bowls with good pace, he has got good variations in short-form cricket, is a good fielder and is a handy batsman too. He was also the joint leading wicket-taker in the JLT One-Day Cup that Western Australia won at the start of the summer and so he fully deserves his spot.
"Andrew Tye is in outstanding limited-overs form as he is demonstrating in the KFC Big Bash League, is another player who did extremely well in the JLT One-Day Cup for Western Australia and merits his chance to try and cement a spot in the 50-over side after having played in the recent T20 International series in India."
Hohns stated that the ODI squad has been picked keeping in mind the 2019 World Cup where Australia will defend the title they won at home in the 2015 edition.
"With our defence of the ICC Cricket World Cup just 17 months away, we are seeking to get a squad in place that can form the basis of the line-up for that campaign and at the same time regain ground in the ODI Rankings, given we have slipped from the number one position over the past 12 months. "There will still be further opportunities for players to force their way into the reckoning for the squad to go to England and Wales in 2019 but the sooner we can settle on our best combination and get them playing together and in form on a regular basis then the better our chances will be of retaining the trophy we won at home in 2015."
Squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner, Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Chris Lynn, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa
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