Bancroft, Harris snubbed for Australia A tour of New Zealand
Cricket Australia has named several fringe Test players along with some of the nation’s best rising talent in a 14-man Australia A squad to tour New Zealand’s South Island for two four-day games in April.
In preparation for the upcoming Ashes series in England, the Dukes brand of ball will be used to acclimatise players to the conditions that will be expected.
Current Test players Peter Handscomb and Matt Renshaw have been named in the squad, as well as Mitchell Swepson, who flew from India during the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy series for the birth of his child.
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South Australian bolter Spencer Johnson has been named after turning heads in the back half of the BBL12 competition for the Brisbane Heat. Johnson has since returned to Sheffield Shield cricket for the Redbacks, playing two matches and taking 15 wickets at an average of 13.07.
Wes Agar, another SA quick, has been selected after taking a whopping 35 wickets for his state. The brother of three-format international Ashton Agar has bowled the most overs of any seamer in the country this season.
Victoria’s Mitchell Perry, Western Australia’s Joel Paris and Queensland’s Xavier Bartlett are the remaining seam bowlers that have been selected for Australia A with a view towards the swing-friendly conditions expected in the UK.
Australian selectors have looked through the window to the future of Australia’s batting stocks by selecting Tim Ward, Nathan McSweeney and teen sensation Teague Wyllie, who made headlines last year when he became the youngest player to score a Shield century since Ricky Ponting.
The contingency plan for Australia’s all-rounder position has also been identified with WA prospect Aaron Hardie booking his flight across the ditch, while Jimmy Peirson – who has two centuries in the Shield this season – is set to take the gloves.
As long as the list of players selected for the Australia A tour is the names left out of the squad.
Sheffield Shield leading runscorer Cameron Bancroft has not been named, while capped Test players Marcus Harris and Michael Neser have also been excluded from the squad despite strong performances on the domestic scene.
One name that has been on the tip of everyone’s tongue since his Player of the Tournament performance in BBL12 is that of Matthew Short. Along with his phenomenal form for the Adelaide Strikers throughout the summer, Short has starred for the Victorian one-day and four-day sides with three centuries and some handy wickets.
The current Australian Test side will finish the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Ahmedabad over the coming days before a three-match One Day International series against India. The Aussies will then turn their attention to the World Test Championship final at The Oval in June.
