Australia have added pacer Mahli Beardman to their squad ahead of the five-match ODI series against England. The 19-year-old Western Australian pacer received his maiden call-up to the senior side.
Beardman has been added as a cover after Australia’s fast-bowling resources have recently taken a beating with multiple injuries keeping them out of action. Xavier Bartlett suffered a side strain during the first T20I against England in Southampton, while Nathan Ellis was pulled from the Scotland leg of the tour after aggravating an injury which he encountered in The Hundred Men’s Competition 2024.
Spencer Johnson was ruled out before the start of the tour, while Riley Meredith did not play after the first T20I in Scotland. Both are recuperating from side problems. Meanwhile, Josh Hazlewood had been a doubt for the T20I series after a late arrival in the UK following a minor calf niggle. However, he played a key role in Australia’s win in Southampton before being rested for the second encounter in Cardiff.
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Australia head coach Andrew McDonald told SEN last week that they will be monitoring the fitness of the talismanic pace-bowling troika of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Hazlewood, in the lead-up to the five-match Test series against India, starting in November.
“A lot of our priorities will be geared around that. You’ll see that unfold with the management of our players. We’ll be very pointed around who does what in terms of [Sheffield] Shield cricket coming into the summer to make sure that they are ready for that first Test match,” McDonald said.
Who is Mahli Beardman?
Beardman stands at 6ft 2in tall. He had a brilliant Under-19 World Cup earlier this year, also winning the Player of the match award for finishing with figures of 3 for 15 in Australia’s victory over India in the final in Benoni. In six matches, he bagged 10 wickets at an impressive average of 10.50.
Beardman and Cooper Connolly, who had been a part of the T20I squad, have been on the Australian bench in Perth in the past two summers as part of Cricket Australia’s Under-19 induction program.
Connolly will remain in the UK with the ODI squad, as will Ben Dwarshuis, who has been added as cover for the remainder of the tour.
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Australia’s squad for the ODIs will also be boosted by the arrival of Starc, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and Glenn Maxwell.
Australia ODI squad vs England: Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey (wk), Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Cameron Green, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis (wk), Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa | Traveling reserve: Mahli Beardman