Photo Credit: Sydney Sixers
A day after they wrapped up the regular season of KFC BBL|10 in top spot, five members of the Sydney Sixers squad have been selected in Australian squads for the Twenty20 series in New Zealand and the Test squad to tour South Africa.
Captain Moises Henriques and bowlers Sean Abbott, Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc, the latter duo who are yet to play for the Sixers this season, were named in the Test contingent, whilst prodigious wicketkeeper-batter Josh Philippe is in the white ball squad.
Confirmation of the tour to South Africa remains subject to satisfactory biosecurity arrangements, with discussions between Cricket South Africa (CSA) and Cricket Australia (CA) ongoing.
Cricket Australia last September agreed in principle to the concurrent tours as part of its commitment to playing its role in international cricket’s recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
CA has since confirmed the Qantas Australian men’s T20I tour of New Zealand with New Zealand Cricket (NZC), while constructive discussions between CA and CSA regarding the safety of the Qantas Australian men’s Test tour of South Africa continue.
Accordingly, the NSP has named separate playing squads for the series in New Zealand and South Africa.
“These are unprecedented times. Cricket Australia is committed to playing our role in international cricket while acknowledging the challenges of the pandemic and ensuring the health and safety of our players, staff and community,” said Ben Oliver, Cricket Australia’s Executive General Manager, National Teams.
“The Australian men’s T20I tour of New Zealand and Australian men’s Test tour of South Africa are important to both host boards and we have been working constructively with their respective management teams on the planning for both tours.
“We do not envisage replicating concurrent Australian men’s tours in the future, but we appreciate the need to do so now to assist our friends around the world during this challenging period for international sport and given the additional time requirements of mandatory quarantine periods.
“I take my hat off to all of the players, officials, staff and their families for their outstanding commitment to deliver international cricket throughout this pandemic.”
QANTAS AUSTRALIAN MEN’S T20I TOUR OF NEW ZEALAND
The NSP has announced the following 18-player squad for the Qantas Australian men’s T20I tour of New Zealand:
Aaron Finch (c) (Victoria)
Matthew Wade (vc) (Tasmania)
Ashton Agar (Western Australia)
Jason Behrendorff (Western Australia)
Mitchell Marsh (Western Australia)
Glenn Maxwell (Victoria)
Ben McDermott (Tasmania)
Riley Meredith (Tasmania)
Josh Philippe (Western Australia)
Jhye Richardson (Western Australia)
Kane Richardson (South Australia)
Daniel Sams (New South Wales)
Tanveer Sangha (New South Wales)
D’Arcy Short (Western Australia)
Marcus Stoinis (Western Australia)
Ashton Turner (Western Australia)
Andrew Tye (Western Australia)
Adam Zampa (New South Wales)
The Australian men’s T20 squad will be captained by Aaron Finch and coached by Andrew McDonald.
QANTAS AUSTRALIAN MEN’S TEST TOUR OF SOUTH AFRICA
The NSP has announced the following 19-player squad for the proposed Qantas Australian men’s Test tour of South Africa:
Tim Paine (c) (Tasmania)
Pat Cummins (vc) (New South Wales)
Sean Abbott (New South Wales)
Alex Carey (South Australia)
Cameron Green (Western Australia)
Marcus Harris (Victoria)
Josh Hazlewood (New South Wales)
Travis Head (South Australia)
Moises Henriques (New South Wales)
Marnus Labuschagne (Queensland)
Nathan Lyon (New South Wales)
Michael Neser (Queensland)
James Pattinson (Victoria)
Will Pucovski (Victoria)
Steve Smith (New South Wales)
Mitchell Starc (New South Wales)
Mark Steketee (Queensland)
Mitchell Swepson (Queensland)
David Warner (New South Wales)
The Australian men’s Test squad would be captained by Tim Paine and coached by Justin Langer.
