The teams have locked in their XIs for the second T20I as Sean Abbott drops out of the series
Johnson replaces injured Abbott for second T20I
A shoulder injury to pace bowler Sean Abbott has seen Australia make a solitary change to their starting XI for the second Dettol T20I encounter against West Indies at Adelaide Oval.
West Indies skipper Rovman Powell won the toss and opted to bowl first, with his team needing to win at Adelaide to keep the three-match series alive after their bat-dominated 11-run loss at Hobart on Friday night.
The visitors made no change to the team that took the series opener to the final over at Blundstone Arena.
Australia XI: Josh Inglis, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh (c), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade (wk), Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson, Jason Behrendorff, Josh Hazlewood
West Indies XI: Brandon King, Johnson Charles, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Shai Hope, Rovman Powell (c), Sherfane Rutherford, Andre Russell, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Jason Holder
Abbott, who claimed 1-41 and four outfield catches in Australia's series-opening win, sustained the injury to his right shoulder during that game and has returned home to Sydney to undergo rehabilitation.
A further update on the extent of the injury is expected during the week.
As foreshadowed yesterday, his place for tonight's second T20I will be filled by left-arm quick Spencer Johnson who will be playing his first international match in Australia, in front of a strong cohort of family and friends in his home town.
Abbott's place in the Australia squad will be filled by Queensland seamer Xavier Bartlett who starred in his first two ODIs for Australia in the preceding Dettol one-day series where he claimed eight wickets at an extraordinary average of 4.75 and an economy rate of 2.35 runs per over.
Bartlett will join the T20 squad in Perth tomorrow ahead of the final T20I at Perth Stadium on Tuesday.
Western Australia all-rounder Aaron Hardie was again handed 12th man duties, with Brisbane Heat BBL championship winner (and South Australia batter) Nathan McSweeney also brought into the Australia dressing room for this match as a substitute fielder.
Johnson was told in the aftermath of Australia's win at Hobart that he would be brought in for his maiden international on home turf having played two T20Is in South Africa earlier this year and a maiden ODI appearance in India last September.
It is expected he will be utilised as a first-change bowler behind new-ball pair Jason Behrendorff and Josh Hazlewood, and in the 'death' overs where he excelled for the Heat in their BBL title triumph last month.
"I can use the confidence from that (BBL) finals series to go in and hopefully perform tomorrow night, and if I get the opportunity at Optus (Stadium in Perth) to perform there as well," the 28-year-old left-armer said yesterday.
"I'm looking forward to the challenge, and I've got some confidence going into the game definitely."
Australia's formidable total of 7-213 at Blundstone Arena was built upon a blazing 93-run opening stand in eight overs from veteran David Warner (70 off 36 balls) and Josh Inglis (39 off 25).
Inglis is looking to cement his claims for selection as a specialist batter in Australia's line-up for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in the USA and Caribbean next June, although he will be locked in a battle with Travis Head (rested from this series) to open alongside Warner.
Skipper Mitchell Marsh, who tested positive to COVID-19 prior to Friday night's match in Hobart, is another who is in the mix to potentially fill the opening role at the World Cup but he retained his role at number three for the second match of this series.
Men's Dettol T20I Series v West Indies
February 9: Australia won by 11 runs
February 11: Adelaide Oval, 7pm AEDT
February 13: Perth Stadium, 7pm AEDT
Australia T20I squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Jason Behrendorff, Tim David, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
West Indies T20I squad: Rovman Powell (c), Shai Hope, Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Oshane Thomas