Dan Christian, Cameron Green among six players added to Australia’s preliminary squad for upcoming tours

By ANI

MELBOURNE: Australia national selection panel (NSP) has added Ben McDermott, Dan Christian, Cameron Green, Ashton Turner, Wes Agar, and Nathan Ellis to the preliminary list of players for the men’s white-ball tours of the West Indies and Bangladesh.

According to Cricket Australia, confirmation of the men’s tours are subject to agreement on bio-security arrangements and relevant government approvals.

McDermott and Christian are currently playing for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire respectively and will return to Australia from the UK this week to complete the mandatory two-week quarantine period before the final squad’s scheduled departure for the Caribbean in late June.

The NSP will select and announce the final touring squad in the coming weeks, having announced an initial 23-player extended list last month which included a number of players who participated in the suspended Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.

Trevor Hohns, National Selector, said managing the health and wellbeing of players through the pandemic remained CA’s top priority.

“We are delighted to recall Ben, Dan, Cameron and Ashton and welcome Wes and Nathan onto the preliminary list of players for the scheduled Australian men’s tours of the West Indies and Bangladesh,” Hohns said in CA release.

“Ben is a proven match-winner and powerful striker of the ball, particularly in the T20 format, and we believe that, at 26, his best cricket is still ahead of him. Dan is in arguably career-best form and was a crucial member of the Sydney Sixers’ BBL-winning squad this summer. His selection is testament to the hard work he has put in over many years.

“Cameron made his ODI debut last summer against India and the NSP believes he has tremendous potential in the white and red-ball formats, while Ashton has performed well across his 17 ODI and T20I matches for Australia dating back to 2017.

“Wes and Nathan, meanwhile, were among the leading wicket-takers during the summer’s BBL and are viewed by the NSP as players who could make a genuine impact at international level. The six additions to the Australian men’s squad follow discussions with players selected in the initial preliminary list for the tours of the West Indies and Bangladesh,” said Hohns.

Australia and West Indies are set to lock horns in five T20Is and three ODIs in July this year.