JFM omission explained, Aussies monitor Marsh, Warner fitness | cricket.com.au

by Admin
May 1, 2024

George Bailey details why IPL breakout star missed T20 World Cup selection, while injuries to top-order duo are being monitored

Australia’s settled top three and an emphasis on squad flexibility were the key factors behind the World Cup omission of wonderkid Jake Fraser-McGurk, according to selection chief George Bailey.

There was no spot for the 22-year-old breakout star of the ongoing Indian Premier League season in the Aussies’ 15-man squad for the T20 event in the Caribbean and United States beginning next month.

Nor was there room for Steve Smith, with Bailey explaining the selection panel view both purely as top-order players, but see incumbents Travis Head, David Warner and Mitch Marsh as stronger options.

Smith’s snub was no great surprise given his fall down the T20 pecking order over recent years, but Fraser-McGurk has made a compelling case by butchering many of the world’s best bowlers in a sequence of bruising IPL innings.

“Ultimately in that squad we’re looking to get … all 15 players on the selection table for each and every game to be able to have those discussions to structure up the way we want,” Bailey told reporters on Wednesday.

“His form’s been great of late, and that’s fantastic, but the way we’re functioning at the top of the order with the three guys we’ve had there has been really strong as well.

“I’m not sure how much work he’s done in other positions, but it certainly looks like the top of the order is where he’s best suited.

“We think we’ve got some other guys that have got some good flexibility around where they bat.

“As part of the build-up, we’ve seen some players perform in some different batting roles to cover off any eventuality.”

Cameron Green and Josh Inglis were preferred over the uncapped Fraser-McGurk. Both boast more experience in the middle order, while Green’s bowling and Ingils’ wicketkeeping add to their versatility.

Bailey kept the door ajar for Fraser-McGurk to earn a ticket to the Caribbean as a travelling reserve, but said Matt Short, Tanveer Sangha and Spencer Johnson are also in the mix.

The fitness of Warner (hand injury) and Marsh (hamstring) are also lingering questions, though both are expected to be firing for the start of the ICC event.

Marsh will resume batting in the coming days after leaving the IPL early, but is further away from getting back to the bowling crease, while it was confirmed Warner does not have a fracture in the hand he hurt last month.

But Bailey said: “It’s still causing him a fair bit of discomfort.

“So we’ll obviously monitor that. Hopefully he can play a couple more games in the IPL to finish off.

“I think it’s one of those ones that’s just some deep-seated bone bruising, and it’s just going to take a little bit of time. I don’t think anyone’s been able to give him a really definitive answer on how long that’ll be.”

Bailey, who previously suggested IPL form would be considered by selectors when picking the World Cup squad, admitted he had found the current edition of the tournament “fascinating”.

The impact substitute rule and the extremely flat surfaces have emboldened batters to go the tonk even more than they already were.

But there are no tactical subs in international cricket, while pitches are expected to offer far more for bowlers at the World Cup, particularly for spinners during the latter stages in the Caribbean.

“I think generally in World Cups, particularly as you get to the back-end, things can tend to tighten up a little bit,” said Bailey. “But so much of that will depend on the surfaces we get in the West Indies.”

By the same token, Bailey stressed his panel is not reading too much into the less flattering IPL returns of some of the other Australian squad members.

Mitchell Starc has been one of the tournament’s more expensive bowlers (economy rate of 11.78), Glenn Maxwell had a self-enforced break after averaging 5.33 in his first six innings, while Warner (167 runs at 24, strike-rate of 136) has also been short of his best.

Asked about Starc and Maxwell, Bailey said: “Their performance over a long period of time internationally has been really good.

“The one thing you have to take into account is that franchises can use players slightly differently to how you might envisage using them in the international team. Some players play slightly different roles.

“But we’ve seen plenty of examples in the past where players had a good or a bad franchise tournament, and there’s not necessarily correlation with what’s going to happen then internationally.”