WA unveil imposing squad for summer opener

Western Australia have named a near-international strength line-up for the start of the Australian men's summer with 10 of the 12 players to take on South Australia in tomorrow's Marsh One Day Cup fixture having represented their country.

Even opener Sam Whiteman can lay claim to having turned out for Australia A which means seamer Matt Kelly is the only member of the 12-man WA squad not to have donned the green and gold at some stage of their senior careers.

However, it will be something of a cameo appearance for a couple of WA's biggest names with skipper Mitchell Marsh and allrounder Ashton Agar expected to return home to Perth immediately after tomorrow's game and not take part in the subsequent Shield game starting Friday.

The pair – as well as SA seamer Kane Richardson – are members of Australia's squad for the ICC T20 World Cup in UAE and Oman next month and have been focusing their pre-season training on white-ball cricket.

Wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis is also a member of that 15-member World Cup squad that is due to leave Australia in early October.

However, having just returned from a stint in the UK after which he was required to serve two weeks of quarantine, Inglis is keen to play as much cricket as possible before he jets off again.

"Everyone’s been training incredibly hard and we can’t wait to get to Adelaide for the first round of fixtures," Inglis said.

"There is plenty of talent in our squad and we believe we can go a long way this year in both competitions."

The absence of those players, as well as white-ball specialist bowlers Jason Behrendorff and Andrew Tye, from WA's Shield team will provide little respite for SA's batters given ex-Test quick Jhye Richardson comes into the team for his first Marsh Sheffield Shield game for almost two years.

Richardson will be joined in the Shield squad by fellow Test-capped players Cameron Bancroft and Hilton Cartwright who could not force their way into WA's star-studded One Day Cup team.

Having finished runner-up to New South Wales in last year's Marsh Cup final and third in the Shield competition, WA are looking to start their season strongly against an opponent that has undergone significant change in search of success.

SA finished bottom in both competitions last summer, and after undergoing an extensive review of their men's program conducted by former Australia Test star Michael Hussey in 2020, the Redbacks have actively recruited from interstate during the winter.

Two of those – allrounders Nathan McSweeney (Queensland) and Nathan McAndrew (New South Wales) - have been included in the squad for tomorrow's game, while ex-WA batter Jake Carder is expected to be in line for a possible Shield debut for SA against his former team on Friday.

McSweeney, 22, is a former Australia Under-19 representative who is yet to play a list-A domestic one-day game despite having made five first-class appearances for the Bulls since 2018.

Image Id: 3E2731E2EFA947B4AE7AAAB8F66B61BC Image Caption: McSweeney played five Shield games for Queensland before crossing to SA this year // Getty

McAndrew is best known for his T20 exploits with Sydney Thunder in the KFC BBL, although he has played two domestic one-dayers for the Blues (in 2019) while his three first-class games to date were with Auckland when he spent the summer of 2015-16 playing in New Zealand.

The powerfully built right-hander is one of five seamers in the SA squad for the Marsh Cup season opener alongside newly capped Australia quick Wes Agar, Kane Richardson who heads to the T20 World Cup in UAE and Oman next month, Nick Winter and Dan Worrall.

As cricket.com.au reported yesterday, SA could not consider strike fast-bowling recruit Brendan Doggett whose pre-season program was delayed due to the closure of SA's border with Queensland earlier this year, or young all-rounder Liam Scott who has a hamstring injury.

"There are so many new faces in our squad this season, both on and off the field, and we have had an amazing winter bonding as a team while working extremely hard to produce our best cricket," Gillespie said.

"Competition for spots has been fierce; we know it takes more than the 11 players selected to get the results we want, and so our entire unit will continue to work together as we proudly represent South Australia on the national stage.

"We just can’t wait to get out there and play some cricket."

The most recent March Cup meeting between the teams was a run-fest in Perth where the home team posted a daunting 5-369 from 50 overs with centuries from Shaun Marsh and Cameron Green before SA fell 13 short in a chase anchored by a 226-run second-wicket stand between Harry Nielsen (110) and Travis Head (142).

Head has only recently returned from a stint with English county Sussex where he struggled to make an impact in the first-class competition (183 runs at an average of 18.30 and a top score of 49no) before finding his feet in the One-Day Cup where he was the team's top-scorer with 291 at 58.20 (and a strike rate of almost 112).

Missing from the Redbacks' most recent one-day team (which lost to Victoria last April) is rookie allrounder Corey Kelly and leg spinner Lloyd Pope, although Pope is expected to push for inclusion in SA's Shield squad - due to be named on Thursday - after impressive form in recent pre-season trial matches.

Pace bowlers Lance Morris and Liam Guthrie are the only names missing from the WA XI that lost to NSW by 102 runs in last season Marsh Cup final, although Morris has been included in the Shield squad while Guthrie was unable to force his way into either of the strong line-ups.

Marsh One-Day Cup - Karen Rolton Oval, Adelaide (Sep 22, 10am local start)

South Australia squad: Travis Head (c), Wes Agar, Alex Carey, Ryan Gibson, Sam Kerber, Jake Lehmann, Nathan McAndrew, Nathan McSweeney, Harry Nielsen, Kane Richardson, Jake Weatherald, Nick Winter, Dan Worrall.

Western Australia squad: Mitchell Marsh (C), Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis, Matt Kelly, Shaun Marsh, Josh Philippe, D’Arcy Short, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Sam Whiteman.

Marsh Sheffield Shield - Karen Rolton Oval, Adelaide (Sep 24-27, 10am local start)

SA squad: to be named

WA squad: Shaun Marsh (C), Cameron Bancroft, Hilton Cartwright, Cameron Gannon, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis, Matt Kelly, Lance Morris, Joel Paris, Jhye Richardson, Corey Rocchiccioli, Josh Philippe, Sam Whiteman.