Australia has unveiled its squad for the Men’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies and United States, with Jake Fraser-McGurk and Steve Smith the most jarring omissions from the 15-player touring party.

The ninth edition of the tournament gets underway next month, with Australia facing Namibia, England Scotland and Oman during the group stage. Mitchell Marsh has been named captain of the Australian squad, while the retiring David Warner embarks on his final assignment in canary yellow.

Australia will be based in the Caribbean for most of its campaign, where they have an opportunity to become the first nation to simultaneously possess the ICC World Test Championship mace and both white-ball World Cup trophies.

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WINNERS

Cameron Green

Despite enduring a horror campaign in the Indian Premier League, the national selectors have backed Green to rediscover his

destructive best in the West Indies next month.

The West Australian all-rounder, who has not represented Australia in the T20 format since November 2022, was dropped from the Royal Challengers Bengaluru starting XI following an underwhelming start to his second IPL stint. However, he bounced back last week by slapping an unbeaten 37 (20) and taking 2-12 during a much-needed win against the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Green’s talent is undeniable – after he was snapped up by the Mumbai Indians on a record-breaking $3.15 million contract, he helped the IPL franchise qualify for last year’s finals with a dazzling century against the Sunrisers.

Worryingly, the 24-year-old hasn’t scored a T20 fifty in the 12 months since. But Australia’s chair of selectors George Bailey, when quizzed about players including Green who are not at the top of their form, suspects they will peak in national colours.

“In an ideal world you’ve got everyone absolutely firing, but there’s still a reasonable amount of time until the actual tournament starts,” he said.

“We do have good faith that once they are in Australian colours and around this group, around Mitch (Marsh) and around the coaching group, we can get everyone in a really good place.”

Ashton Agar

Australia’s desire to have a second strike bowler for the T20 World Cup has opened the door for Agar to return to the national T20 squad after an 18-month hiatus.

The West Australian spinner, who lost his national contract last month, has not played T20I cricket since October 2022, with leg-spinner Adam Zampa keeping him on the sidelines.

However, Caribbean pitches have traditionally favoured spinners, with the potential for Zampa and Agar to feature in the same starting XI a genuine possibility.

Agar, a genuine all-rounder, also provides an additional batting option for the Australians, helping with team balance should a second tweaker be required.

The 30-year-old, named in Australia’s preliminary World Cup squad last year but withdrawn due to injury, also boasts a superb bowling record in T20Is, averaging 22.35 while maintaining an economy of 6.47.

Australian selector George Bailey said that history suggested the longer the tournament progresses, the more the pitches will be conducive to spin, hence the selection of Agar.

“I think as the tournament goes on, if you do happen to start playing on some wickets that have been played on before or have had a fair bit of traffic on them, that’s certainly a possibility,” he said.

“It gives us the ability to structure up a little bit differently and potentially to play two frontline (spinners) in ‘Zamps’ and Ash, in conjunction with ‘Maxie’ as well, so you’ve also got options there.

“So again, (we have) that flexibility, just being able to structure up exactly how we want, (and) the left arm skill set is a little different.”

Josh Inglis

Inglis has been Australia’s perennial reserve wicketkeeper for nearly three years, but the 29-year-old has proven more than capable of serving as a specialist batter if required.

During last year’s T20 series against India in the subcontinent, the West Australian gloveman smacked a career-best 110 (50) in Visakhapatnam while batting at No. 3.

He’s been nothing short of superb for the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League over the last three years, while he looms as the most likely candidate to replace Matthew Wade in the national T20 side when the Tasmanian decides to hang up the boots.

Barring injury, however, it’s unlikely that Inglis would break into Australia’s first-choice XI during the T20 World Cup, but Bailey said the flexibility he provides made him a good choice for the squad.

“We’re really comfortable that with Josh there as a backup, and also … taking the wicketkeeping aside, with the way that Josh has been betting as well again, (he provides) flexibility,” Bailey said.

“He’s had some great success at the top of the order. He’s also had some a few opportunities through the middle as well. So he just provides that flexibility of role, depending on what we may be faced with.”

LOSERS

Jake Fraser-McGurk

What more could he have done?

Fraser-McGurk, signed by the Delhi Capitals at the eleventh hour as an injury replacement, has lit up this year’s IPL by blasting 259 runs at 43.16 with an absurd strike rate of 233.33.

The right-hander has never played T20I cricket, but pundits were calling for him to be parachuted into Australia’s T20 World Cup squad following his recent IPL heroics.

However, the national selectors have opted to stick with an experienced touring party rather than gambling on an unproven pinch-hitter.

Fraser-McGurk, who made his ODI debut in February, remains a superstar in the making, with the Victorian every chance of featuring in the 2027 World Cup in South Africa.

Bailey said the strength of the top-order lead by David Warner, Travis Head and Mitch Marsh, combined with doubts as to Fraser-McGurk’s ability to bat lower down the order at this stage of his career, explained his absence.

“It’s obviously been fantastic to see Jake play as well as he has the last couple of weeks in the IPL. It has been wonderful,” Bailey said.

“But ultimately … we are looking to get that balance that we want in terms of getting across there and playing each game against different opponents, different venues, different surfaces.

“His form has been great of late and that is fantastic. But the way we are functioning at the top of the order with the three guys we have there has been really strong as well.”

Steve Smith

For the first time in over a decade, Smith has not been selected for an ICC tournament.

Following a lean run of form in the game’s shortest format, the New South Welshman was dropped ahead of the 2022 T20 World Cup on home soil.

However, after clobbering twin hundreds for the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League last year, Smith was given an opportunity to push his case as a T20 opener.

But in his five most recent T20I appearances, Smith has accumulated 90 runs at 18.00 with an underwhelming strike rate of 126.76. Based on recent form, Inglis was justifiably chosen ahead of Smith as Australia’s reserve batter for the T20 World Cup.

Bailey said Smith was strongly considered but the strength at the top of the order, combined with his failings in New Zealand, ultimately led to him missing out.

“He’s one that was on an extended list and was in the conversations,” Bailey said.

“He’s probably one who, I think, his best T20 work of late has come at the top of the order and, at the moment, we see that top order been really settled.”

But Bailey believes Smith, who moved to the top of the order in the Test team following the retirement of Warner in January, still has lot of good cricket left in him.

“I think it’s probably for Steve to answer, what his goals or challenges are going forward and what he wants to achieve in the game,” Bailey said.

“I still think he’s got an enormous amount of good cricket left ahead of him across what formats, I think that’s as much up for him to decide where he wants to go with his cricket going forward. I know he still loves playing T20 cricket.

“I think we’ve got a handful of players, probably more than some other countries, who have been multi-format for a long period of time and it’s natural that some of those will start to drop off.”

Matt Short

Short, named player of the Big Bash League for two consecutive summers, has every right to feel hard done by after missing selection for the T20 World Cup.

The Victorian has been flawless at the Adelaide Strikers over the past 18 months, scoring 999 runs at 45.41. He’s versatile, capable of batting anywhere in the top seven, while he provides an additional bowling option with his part-time off-spin.

Meanwhile, the right-hander boasts a strike rate of 187.30 when opening in T20Is over the past 12 months, which is comfortably higher than that of any other Australian during that period.

But with only 15 spots available in Australia’s touring party to the West Indies, Short is one of the unluckiest players to miss out. But Bailey said Short, along with Fraser-McGurk, Tanveer Sangha and Spencer Johnson, are in consideration to travel as a reserve.

“We are comfortable with the balance, as it sits, but there is a lot of cricket to be played, so if that changes, we are open to change,” Bailey said on Wednesday.

“There would need to be a reason and whether that is through injury, form is clearly a metric, fitness is a metric, so it is just about making sure that balance is maintained.

“As you are when you are trying to pick a squad of 15, you are after balance, you are trying to have that ability to have the people on the selection table when you need them. (Jake Fraser-McGurk) is in that mix. Matt Short, Tanveer Sangha and Spencer Johnson are all guys who are firmly in the mix for that.”