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George Bailey on Australia’s Champions Trophy squad, spin options, Fraser-McGurk absence and more
Lachlan Geleit • January 14th, 2025 10:11 am
Australia’s chief selector George Bailey was pleased to announce a preliminary 15-man squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy in Pakistan.
With the tournament kicking off on February 19, Australia picked a near full-strength squad, with only Cameron Green (injury), David Warner and Sean Abbott out of the squad that won the World Cup in 2023.
Replacing those three are Matt Short, Aaron Hardie and Nathan Ellis, with the Aussies selecting just one specialist spinner in Adam Zampa.
While conditions could favour spin over seam in Pakistan, Bailey thinks that there’s enough spin bowling depth in the squad with Glenn Maxwell, Short, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne all viable options to bowl important overs across the tournament.
“We’ve said this on numerous occasions, I think that's selling Glenn Maxwell short, his ability with the ball has been excellent,” Bailey told SEN 1170 Afternoons.
“Matt Short has shown that he can provide some handy overs as well. We've seen Travis Head and Marnus bowl spin at different times as well.
“So, I think we've got plenty of options there in terms of being able to structure up.
“I think over the last few years, if you look at Pakistan wickets, they've actually been terrific batting wickets.”
One notable omission from the side was young gun Jake Fraser-McGurk who has recently represented Australia in 50-over cricket both in the recent home series against Pakistan and away against England in 2024.
Bailey admitted that Fraser-McGurk was unfortunate to miss out with squads capped at 15.
“Depending on where you're going and what the tournament is, you're always guided by a number,” Bailey said.
“At ICC events, that number is always 15. So, depending on where you're going and what you think the makeup and options, you'd like to have on your side are there's always a squeeze on one or two at different times.
“He was unfortunate to miss out, but we’re comfortable around what it looks like at the top of the order with the players that we have there.
“Jake is young with an incredibly exciting skillset, it’s going to be a journey for him and us around his opportunities around the Australian team and this is just a step on that journey.”
Bailey also discussed the makeup of the squad, Mitchell Marsh, picking five all-round options and more.
Australia begin their Champions Trophy campaign against England in Lahore on February 22.
