Melbourne, May 8 (IANS) In the aftermath of the infamous ball-tampering saga that rocked Australian cricket, including the suspensions of Steve Smith, David Warner and young Cameron Bancroft, the country’s cricket board on Tuesday named Tim Paine and Aaron Finch as captains in the limited overs formats.
Paine, the Test skipper, will lead the One-day International (ODI) side during next month’s England tour, while Finch will be his deputy.
Finch has been named the Twenty20 captain for a one-off match against England and a subsequent tour of Zimbabwe, which consists of a tri-series also involving Pakistan.
Finch had been deemed the favourite to become the ODI captain but Cricket Australia (CA) have decided to go with Paine in a bid for stability in this turbulent period.
However, CA chief selector Trevor Hohns confirmed Paine’s appointment was not permanent.
“Tim is a strong leader and will captain the side for this series, supported by Aaron. A decision on a permanent one-day captain will be made in due course,” Hohns was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.
In the absence of the seasoned Smith and Warner, the board decided to recall star Test spinner Nathan Lyon to the ODI side after a two-year gap. Ashton Agar, the spinner all-rounder, has been named in both the squads, while emerging leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson was a surprise inclusion for the T20 lineup.
Adam Zampa, who had been the incumbent limited overs spinner, has been left out from both the 15-man ODI squad for the five-match series against England and also the 14-man T20 squad.
Australia will also be without the services of ailing quicks Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, along with all-rounder Mitchell Marsh who is sidelined with an ankle injury.
Australian ODI squad: Tim Paine (Captain, WK), Aaron Finch (VC), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Josh Hazelwood, Travis Head, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcuis Stoinis, Andrew Tye.
T20 squad: Aaron Finch (Captain), Alex Carey (VC, WK), Ashton Agar, Travis Head, Nic Maddinson, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Andrew Tye, Jack Wildermuth.
