Updated
Steve Smith and David Warner’s return to the national cricket team has been confirmed with both players making the cut for Australia’s Cricket World Cup 2019 squad.
Smith and Warner return to the international fold following 12-month bans for their involvement in the ball-tampering scandal that erupted in South Africa last year.
However, there was no room for Peter Handscombe, Ashton Turner or Kane Richardson, who all toured India and the United Arab Emirates last month.
Mitchell Starc and Jhye Richardson are named in the squad subject to fitness, while Josh Hazelwood misses out.
The 15-man squad announcement comes as Australia looks to defend its World Cup title that it won on home soil four years ago — its fifth title.
The squad heads to England for the tournament beginning May 30, with an Ashes tour following immediately after.
Batsman: David Warner
Back from the abyss that was the ball-tampering scandal that rocked Australian cricket in 2018, David Warner arrives back in the national fold after a year spent playing grade cricket with Randwick-Petersham as well as franchise action around the world.
In both the Indian and Bangladesh Premier Leagues, Warner has notched opening half-centuries with regularity, as well as an unbeaten 55-ball century for Sunrisers Hyderabad to show he has not lost his appetite for runs.
How he acclimatises to life in the squad will be interesting to watch, as both a bellwether to Australia’s World Cup fortunes and during a tough Ashes tour in England to follow.
| David Warner’s ODI stats | |
|---|---|
| Total runs: 4343 | Matches: 106 |
| Batting average: 43.43 | Catches: 49 |
| Strike rate: 96.55 | |
| Highest score: 179 | |
Batsman: Aaron Finch
His recent drafting into the Test team raised eyebrows and his form in whites left many unconvinced, but in one-day international cricket, Aaron Finch remains a natural pick at the top of the order.
Two centuries (including a career-high score of 153 not out) and two half tons against Pakistan sees Finch primed and ready for a World Cup assault.
A 93 made up for an otherwise leaner trot during the five-match series against India, meaning Australia remains almost overly stocked in top-four batsmen.
Finch opened the batting for Australia in its 2015 World Cup-winning campaign on home soil.
| Aaron Finch’s ODI stats | |
|---|---|
| Total runs: 4052 | Matches: 109 |
| Batting average: 39.33 | Catches: 54 |
| Strike rate: 88.16 | |
| Highest score: 153* | |
Batsman: Usman Khawaja
Usman Khawaja has timed his run to top form in limited overs to perfection, entering the World Cup with a string of half-centuries and two tons in recent series to his name.
Two centuries against India in the recent five-match series, as well as an 88 and 98 against Pakistan, sees the wristy opener sit as the perfect foil to either David Warner or Aaron Finch as the man who can build an innings alongside a more aggressive batting bruiser.
| Usman Khawaja’s ODI stats | |
|---|---|
| Total runs: 1238 | Matches: 31 |
| Batting average: 44.21 | Catches: 8 |
| Strike rate: 83.08 | |
| Highest score: 104 | |
Batsman: Steve Smith
He’ll be the focus of English hecklers both during the World Cup and Ashes tour thanks to what unfolded in South Africa a year ago, but former captain Steve Smith remains one of the world’s premier batsmen, a potent gamechanger and a sharp tactician.
That Smith is still ranked number four in the world for Test batsmen after sitting 12 months out of the game tells its own story, but his “best since Bradman” career trajectory has been tainted by the ball-tampering fiasco.
Nevertheless, Smith’s re-entry to the national team and Cricket World Cup squad means Australia’s batting ranks are ridiculously potent, and shorn of the captaincy, could make Smith’s exact place in the batting line-up more flexible between three and five.
A World Cup winner in 2015, Smith boasts eight centuries in ODI cricket to date, and will be hoping for some sort of sporting redemption before what will be a gruelling Ashes tour.
| Steve Smith’s ODI stats | |
|---|---|
| Total runs: 3431 | Matches: 108 |
| Batting average: 41.84 | Catches: 62 |
| Strike rate: 86.35 | |
| Highest score: 164 | |
Batsman: Shaun Marsh
A lightning rod for the public’s frustrations with national selectors, Shaun Marsh has found form of late with two half-centuries in the five-match series against Pakistan in the UAE.
A true floater in Australia’s batting order, Marsh can be utilised as an opener, but is more likely to find himself batting somewhere between third and fifth spot if picked.
A fine limited-overs batsman, Marsh has seven ODI centuries to his name, but not a World Cup title after missing out on a spot in 2015, with younger brother Mitchell featuring instead.
| Shaun Marsh’s ODI stats | |
|---|---|
| Total runs: 2747 | Matches: 71 |
| Batting average: 41.62 | Catches: 22 |
| Strike rate: 81.48 | |
| Highest score: 151 | |
Wicketkeeper: Alex Carey
With Tim Paine tasked with the Test keeper gloves (and captaincy), Alex Carey has grown into the role as Australia’s limited overs man behind the stumps.
An inventive batsman, Carey poses a threat against bowlers lower down the order, and has strung together a number of unbeaten innings for Australia at the death.
| Alex Carey’s ODI stats | |
|---|---|
| Total runs: 429 | Matches: 19 |
| Batting average: 30.64 | Catches: 16 |
| Strike rate: 83.46 | Stumpings: 3 |
| Highest score: 55 | |
All-rounder: Glenn Maxwell
Primarily recognised as one of the world’s most dangerous batsman, Glenn Maxwell is also regularly used as a containing spin bowler in ODIs.
With the bat, Maxwell is lethal and can smash any bowler in the world out of the stadium. His recent form against Pakistan was more than handy, with three half-centuries in five matches in the recent series.
A member of the World Cup-winning squad of 2015, Maxwell remains a compulsory pick in limited overs cricket despite his controversial omissions from the Test squad in recent seasons.
| Glenn Maxwell’s ODI stats | |
|---|---|
| Total runs: 2700 | Matches: 100 |
| Batting average: 33.33 | Catches: 61 |
| Strike rate: 121.95 | Wickets: 50 |
| Highest score: 102 | Bowling average: 44.60 |
All-rounder: Marcus Stoinis
On his day, Marcus Stoinis is lethal with the willow and a handy support act with the ball in hand, but top form has eluded the burly all-rounder for a while, now.
A lean run with the bat against Pakistan and India in the two recent ODI series, with just the one half-ton to speak of, and just four wickets show Australia has been relying more on its top order batsmen and strike bowlers of late.
But in a tournament format where squad depth is paramount, Stoinis adds both X-factor and abilities across the board to remain an asset for Australia.
| Marcus Stoinis’ ODI stats | |
|---|---|
| Total runs: 963 | Matches: 33 |
| Batting average: 38.52 | Catches: 9 |
| Strike rate: 93.49 | Wickets: 26 |
| Highest score: 146* | Bowling average: 46.23 |
Bowler: Pat Cummins
A potent match-winner for the Aussies, Pat Cummins is a genuine danger with the ball in hand, and a true dark horse lower down the order for Australia’s batting line-up.
Against India in the recent ODI series, he was a regular wicket-taker with a five and four-wicket haul to his name, while he also took three wickets in the one match he played in the Pakistan series.
With the bat, Cummins has less time to compile runs than he does in Tests — where he’s made two fifties — but the talent remains there should Australia find itself in need of a serious tail wag.
| Pat Cummins’ ODI stats | |
|---|---|
| Total runs: 183 | Matches: 48 |
| Batting average: 11.43 | Catches: 9 |
| Strike rate: 70.38 | Wickets: 82 |
| Highest score: 36 | Bowling average: 26.53 |
Bowler: Mitchell Starc
Mitchell Starc’s confirmation as a world-class southpaw came in the previous World Cup where he helped spearhead Australia’s pace-attack towards a tournament victory on home soil.
Four years later, Starc has by and large overcome most of the injury complaints that bedevilled his early career (with some player management from Cricket Australia authorities), and he should be fighting fit for Australia’s first match of the 2019 event against Afghanistan.
Lightning quick in the delivery with seam and movement at his disposal, Starc is the primary intimidatory force in Australia’s bowling ranks, something he proved when he took over that mantle from Mitchell Johnson in 2015.
He has become slightly wayward in recent Test series, and he was rested for the Pakistan and India ODI series. But Starc should get game time in Australia’s two warm-up matches before the tournament starts proper.
| Mitchell Starc’s ODI stats | |
|---|---|
| Total runs: 280 | Matches: 75 |
| Batting average: 12.72 | Catches: 19 |
| Strike rate: 89.45 | Wickets: 145 |
| Highest score: 52* | Bowling average: 21.44 |
Bowler: Jason Behrendorff
Jason Behrendorff makes the cut for Australia’s Cricket World Cup squad as another member of the left-arm pace brigade.
His performances in both Twenty20 Internationals and the Indian Premier League have showcased and economical bowler capable of keeping things tight.
He played in two ODIs against India and two again against Pakistan in the respective five-match series, but took just the one wicket.
| Jason Behrendorff’s ODI stats | |
|---|---|
| Total runs: 7 | Matches: 6 |
| Batting average: n/a | Catches: 2 |
| Strike rate: 175.00 | Wickets: 7 |
| Highest score: 6* | Bowling average: 41.42 |
Bowler: Nathan Lyon
A crowd favourite in the Test team, Nathan Lyon has gradually proven his worth in the ODI setup as well, with Australia growing increasingly happy to have more than one spin option bowling with regularity in the same match.
Regularly chipping in with one or two wickets during the recent ODI series, Lyon has managed to adjust his game piece by piece to limited overs, having established himself as Australia’s greatest off spinner in the longer form of the game.
| Nathan Lyon’s ODI stats | |
|---|---|
| Total runs: 69 | Matches: 25 |
| Batting average: 23.00 | Catches: 6 |
| Strike rate: 94.52 | Wickets: 26 |
| Highest score: 30 | Bowling average: 44.34 |
Bowler: Adam Zampa
Adam Zampa has established himself as Australia’s limited-overs leg spinner, and could see himself as part of a two-man spin attack with plenty of variety.
On spinning wickets, Zampa proved the better of many Indian and Pakistani batsmen, taking three wickets twice against India and 4-43 against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi.
| Adam Zampa’s ODI stats | |
|---|---|
| Total runs: 99 | Matches: 44 |
| Batting average: 7.07 | Catches: 9 |
| Strike rate: 63.46 | Wickets: 60 |
| Highest score: 22 | Bowling average: 35.45 |
Bowler: Nathan Coulter-Nile
Initially seen as something of an all-rounder some years ago, Nathan Coulter-Nile finds himself picked for the 2019 World Cup as a strong option in the pace bowling arsenal.
Chipping in with regular wickets against India and Pakistan, Coulter-Nile is an awkward customer for batsmen to deal with and will offer plenty of chances to carry the workload from the likes of Cummins and Starc.
| Nathan Coulter-Nile’s ODI stats | |
|---|---|
| Total runs: 154 | Matches: 27 |
| Batting average: 12.83 | Catches: 7 |
| Strike rate: 81.05 | Wickets: 48 |
| Highest score: 34 | Bowling average: 26.56 |
Bowler: Jhye Richardson
Identified as a 19-year-old with promise back in 2015, Jhye Richardson’s run to the World Cup has come through an encouraging wicket-taking strike rate, rather than economy.
A regular wicket taker against India and Pakistan, Richardson has the ability to take scalps in purple patches, shifting match momentum in the blink of an eye.
| Jhye Richardson’s ODI stats | |
|---|---|
| Total runs: 68 | Matches: 12 |
| Batting average: 13.60 | Catches: 4 |
| Strike rate: 80.95 | Wickets: 24 |
| Highest score: 29 | Bowling average: 26.33 |
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