Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh has been rested for the upcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka starting in Colombo on Sunday. Cricket Australia announced on Thursday that Marsh won't be part of the ODI team as the 24-year-old will be given a chance to freshen up before the start of the ODI series against South Africa next month.
Australia is scheduled to host 6 Tests this summer against South Africa and Pakistan, Bilateral ODI series against New Zealand and Pakistan and a Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka.
“It’s a big summer ahead for him,” coach and selector Darren Lehmann said. “We’ve got some quality all-rounders in our one-day squad anyway, so we get a chance to freshen him up and ready to go for South Africa and moving forward.”
Also read:A recap of the thrilling Sri Lanka-Australia test series
The all-rounder had a torrid time in the recently concluded Test series and bowled only 35 overs during the course of 3 matches. Apart from a few cameos, Marsh like his teammates fell prey to the Sri Lankan spinners and scored only one half-century in his 6 innings.
Australia’s ODI squad includes the likes of Moises Henriques and James Faulkner as all rounders and Adam Zampa and Nathan Lyon as spinners.
Hard-hitting batsman Glenn Maxwell was axed from the ODI squad after a string of poor performances with the bat but Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has been surprised by his omission as he believes Maxwell is an excellent batsman of spin bowling. After what Maxwell did against Sri Lanka in the 2015 World Cup, the Lankans will be relieved to see him get omitted from the squad.
Also read:Mitchell Marsh feels losing No.1 ranking will hurt the Australians
Lehmann lamented that they were utterly outplayed in the Test series but when it comes to limited overs cricket it’s a different ball game altogether. Aussies who won a tri-series in West Indies against the Proteas and the host nation will look to continue their dominance in the shorter format and will be focussed on preparing for the next year’s Champions Trophy scheduled to be played in England.
“You always look ahead. We’ve got a pretty solid one-day side,” the coach said. “They’ve performed really well over a long period of time now”.
“The Champions Trophy is the carrot. But we want to win a game in Sri Lanka for a start. That’s probably prime importance for us, and to play well.” Lehmann concluded.
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