Australia’s first ODI outing since World Cup

Champions to face top Associate side Ireland in a one-off game

BELFAST: Australia play their first ODI as world champions in Belfast on Thursday with a new captain and three uncapped players in the 14-man squad which meets Ireland in a one-off game at Stormont.

Although their World Cup victory was just five months ago, it will be Steven Smith leading Australia, not Michael Clarke and Matthew Wade keeping wicket instead of Brad Haddin who has retired from one-day cricket.

The newcomers are Joe Burns, who is in line to replace Aaron Finch at the top of the order, while the World Cup opener recovers from a fractured foot, all-rounder Marcus Stoinis who comes in for the suspended James Faulkner, and the sole specialist spinner in the squad is Ashton Agar, returning to an Australia side for the first time since the 2013 Ashes tour.

Five of the World Cup winning team — and eight of the squad — are still around despite Mitchell Johnson and Josh Hazlewood being sent home to prepare for the domestic season, leaving the world number one ODI bowler Mitchell Starc to lead the attack.

Shane Watson may have lost his Test place but he is still a key member of the one-day squad, along with Glenn Maxwell who is the only Australia batsman in the world’s ODI top 10.

The game against Ireland, the leading Associate nation which defeated West Indies and Zimbabwe at this year’s World Cup, may be seen as a ‘warm-up’ for the five-match series against England which starts next week but the world champions will have to be fully focused against an experienced team which revels in the underdogs tag. Captain William Porterfield is one of six playing regular county cricket while Andrew Balbirnie, who scored 97 in the Zimbabwe win and slow left-armer George Dockrell are with Middlesex and Somerset respectively.

All 13 were in the World Cup squad as new coach John Bracewell, the former New Zealand off spinner who took over from Phil Simmons, eases himself into the job. 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 27^th,  2015.

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