Marnus in, Agar out as Aussies finalise World Cup squad

Travis Head's World Cup dream is still alive with Australia to carry the opener through the first half of the tournament despite his broken hand.

Australia today finalised their 15-player squad for the 50-over tournament beginning on October 5, with Marnus Labuschagne replacing Ashton Agar the only change to the preliminary squad announced earlier this month.

Australia World Cup squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa

That means the five-time champions will go into their World Cup campaign in India with just one specialist spinner in Adam Zampa, but allrounder Glenn Maxwell proved last night he is a capable sidekick with a career-best 4-40 from 10 overs in the third ODI against India.

Matt Short – whose all-round skill set replicates that of Maxwell and Head – and leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha will remain with the squad in India until at least the conclusion of the warm-up matches.

Australia will effectively have a 14-man squad in the opening stages of the tournament with Head's hand expected to be in a cast for at least four more weeks.

The 29-year-old was struck on the glove by a rising Gerald Coetzee delivery in the fourth ODI, with scans later confirming a fracture in a joint on his left hand.

He avoided surgery on the injury and national selectors have deemed him so valuable to Australia's World Cup chances that they are prepared to carry him through the opening matches of the 50-over showpiece, with national selection chair George Bailey saying he won't be available until midway through the campaign.

"We have made the decision to carry Travis through the early stages with the aim of him being available around the mid-part of the tournament," Bailey said.

"He has been a really important player in this ODI team and we are hopeful his return can provide a positive impetus as it gets to the business end of the tournament."

Head had been in the form of his life up until the injury, locking down his place at the top of the order alongside David Warner with 481 runs at 60 in the past nine months.

Labuschagne also made an irresistible case for inclusion across the past eight matches after being left out of the preliminary squad earlier this month.

Since his return to the side as a replacement for Steve Smith, who missed the South African tour with a wrist injury, the Queenslander has been Australia's top run-scorer with 421 at 60 while lifting his ODI strike rate from 74.9 in the past two years to 97.7 in his past eight matches.

After Head (45.5), he also had the lowest dot ball percentage (45.7) of all Australian batters to face more than 50 deliveries across the two series and underpinned his value to the middle-order in the third ODI in Rajkot with a 58-ball 72 as wickets fell around him.

Agar's exclusion comes on the back of little cricket this year, with the Western Australian having only played four competitive matches since the KFC BBL in January.

He played a crucial hand alongside Labuschagne with the bat in the first ODI in South Africa before missing the next two matches with a calf injury and then returning home for the birth of his first child.

"This was a tough call but unfortunately, we couldn't carry both Travis and Ashton into the tournament with the injuries they have," Bailey said.

Australia have had a disjointed lead-in to the World Cup with several players recovering from injuries, while they lost five consecutive matches before Wednesday's 66-run win.

Their team for that match was their strongest since switching to ODI cricket post Ashes, with captain Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood reuniting for the first time in the format since November 2020.

Maxwell also returned from a flare-up of the left ankle he fractured last year, Mitch Marsh continued his scintillating form as opener in place of Head, and Smith played all three matches in the series after recovering from tendon damage in his left wrist.

Australia have two warm-up matches to come against the Netherlands on September 30 and Pakistan on October 3 to settle on their preferred XI for their blockbuster World Cup opener against India in Chennai on October 8.

Australia's 2023 ODI World Cup fixtures

Warm-up match: September 30: v Netherlands, Thiruvananthapuram (D/N), 6.30pm AEST

Warm-up match: October 3: v Pakistan, Hyderabad (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

October 8: v India, Chennai (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

October 12: v South Africa, Lucknow (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

October 16: v Sri Lanka, Lucknow (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

October 20: v Pakistan, Bengaluru (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

October 25: v Netherlands, Delhi (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

October 28: v New Zealand, Dharamsala, 4pm AEDT

November 4: v England, Ahmedabad (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

November 7: v Afghanistan, Mumbai (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

November 11: v Bangladesh, Pune, 4pm AEDT

November 15: First semi-final, Mumbai (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

November 16: Second semi-final, Kolkata (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

November 19: Final, Ahmedabad (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa