Cricket Australia on July 12 announced two changes to their T20I squad for the five-T20I series against West Indies. Josh Hazlewood is set to return to Australia after the pink-ball Test whereas Spencer Johnson is yet to recover from the back issue. Top-order batter Jake Fraser-McGurk and pace-bowling all-rounder Xavier Bartlett have been added to the squad.
Fraser-McGurk has been picked despite an inconsistent run in the ongoing Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025 for San Francisco Unicorns. Playing for the same franchise in MLC 2025, Bartlett has been in good form with the ball. In addition, he has proved his mettle as a handy batter down the order.
Bartlett's T20I numbers
Bartlett has been exceptional for Australia in T20Is. He has taken 11 wickets from seven games at an average of 14.72. His economy rate is 6.84 runs per over. He is yet to show his prowess with the bat for Australia.
Where does Fraser-McGurk fit in?
Fraser-McGurk's inconsistency has been an issue. He has scored 113 runs from seven T20Is at an average of 16.14, including a solitary half-century. His strike rate is 143.03. With Mitchell Owen set to make his T20I debut, it will be interesting to see whether Fraser-McGurk opens or bats at no.3, like he did for San Francisco Unicorns who had captain Matthew Short and Finn Allen as openers.
Australia's updated T20I squad for West Indies tour
Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Ben Dwarshius, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Josh Inglis, Xavier Bartlett, Matt Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Owen, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa
Australia's tour of West Indies T20I schedule -
First T20I: July 20, Kingston, Jamaica
Second T20I: July 22, Kingston, Jamaica
Third T20I: July 25, Basseterre, St Kitts
Fourth T20I: July 26, Basseterre, St Kitts
Fifth T20I: July 28, Basseterre, St Kitts
Australia vs West Indies head-to-head
Australia have played three T20I bilateral series on West Indies soil. They are yet to win a T20I series in West Indies. Overall, its even-steven between the two teams. From 22 games, West Indies and Australia have won 11 each.