Marnus Labuschagne. (Photo by Lee Warren/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
New Zealand ‘A’ side will travel to Australia later this month to play in two four-day games followed by three one-dayers that will be split between Brisbane and Mackay. Australia A have a strong squad lined up to welcome their old rivals, as ten players in the 50-over team have experience playing international cricket. The biggest name in Australia A for the one-dayers is the seasoned campaigner Marnus Labuschagne, who failed to find a place in the country’s preliminary 18-member squad for the ODI World Cup in India in October-November.
Labuschagne will be joined by the likes of Matthew Kuhnemann, Ben McDermott, Todd Murphy, and Matt Renshaw in the one-dayers, who have represented Australia in recent times. The likes of Josh Philippe, Ashton Turner, Wes Agar, Gurinder Sandhu, and Ben Dwarshuis are the other players who have had international exposure.
Matthew Short, who received a T20I call-up for the series against South Africa for a three-match series, also found a place in the white-ball team.
Cameron Bancroft’s chance to be the frontrunner for Test opener role after David Warner’s retirement
The 30-year-old Cameron Bancroft, who has played in 10 Test matches, has been picked in the four-day squad. He will look to make a strong case for himself as Australia would be looking for a new opener after David Warner announced in June that he would like to retire from the longest format in early 2024.
The first four-day game will begin on August 28, followed by the second on September 4. The three one-dayers will be played on the 10th, 13th, and 15th of September, respectively.
Australia A four-day squad: Wes Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Jordan Buckingham, Ben Dwarshuis, Caleb Jewell, Campbell Kellaway, Matthew Kelly, Matthew Kuhnemann, Nathan McAndrew, Nathan McSweeney, Joel Paris, Jimmy Peirson, Mitch Perry, Josh Philippe, Mark Steketee, Mitchell Swepson, Tim Ward
Australia A one-day squad: Wes Agar, Ollie Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Liam Hatcher, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Ben McDermott, Todd Murphy, Josh Philippe, Matthew Renshaw, Gurinder Sandhu, Matt Short, Mark Steketee, Will Sutherland, Ashton Turner