New Delhi, India

Attacking opener Jake Fraser-McGurk and uncapped Perth Scorchers and Western Australia all-rounder Cooper Connolly are named in Australia’s squad for the Scotland and England T20Is starting in September, while the selectors rested ace seamer Pat Cummins for the complete tour. Following David Warner’s retirement, Australia handpicked Fraser to replace him at the top in white-ball cricket, with him getting picked for England ODIs as well.

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While Australia named a relatively newer T20I squad than the one that exited the Super 8s in the recently-concluded T20 World Cup in the Americas, the ODI squad still has regular names keeping an eye on next year’s Champions Trophy in Pakistan.

Australia will face Scotland in three T20Is before travelling to England for as many T20Is and five ODIs.

Newcomers are welcomed

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Meanwhile, Connolly has featured in over a dozen domestic T20Is (15) but was handy for Perth Scorchers in helping them lift the BBL title earlier.

Connolly strikes big at around 145 plus, with his left-arm spin giving the captain more options to explore while bowling. The left-handed batter also scored 90 on his Sheffield Shield debut. 

"We are particularly pleased to offer Cooper his first opportunity in the T20 squad, having introduced the likes of Jake, Spencer, Xavier and Aaron in the past 12 months. They are exciting prospects to join the likes of Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis and Josh Inglis in the white-ball set-up,” national selector George Bailey said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

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All-rounder Mitchell Marsh will lead the T20I and ODI squad on the UK Tour, with the selectors opting against picking Cummins - to rest for him for the extended home summer. Meanwhile, seamer Mitchell Starc and star all-rounder Glenn Maxwell will return for the England ODIs, while Matthew Short – part of the travelling reserves during the 20-team tournament, is included in the ODI squad.

However, from the squad that played the T20 WC, Ashton Agar and Matthew Wade are dropped, while Warner is now out of contention since his retirement, though he is open to playing in the Champions Trophy next year if needed.

"This tour gives us a great opportunity to bring in some new players in the absence of David Warner and Matthew Wade, as well as giving some senior players time to prepare for the home summer and a busy first half of next year," Bailey added.

Australia’s T20I squad for the UK Tour –

Mitchell Marsh (captain), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Spencer Johnson, Marcus Stoinis and Adam Zampa

Australia’s ODI squad against England –

Mitchell Marsh (captain), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis (wk), Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc and Adam Zampa.

(With inputs from agencies)