Delhi Capitals star Jake Fraser-McGurk will open the batting in the first T20I against West Indies after Matt Short was ruled out of Australia's T20 tour of the Caribbean as Cricket Australia have confirmed their playing XI for the opener clash of the five-match series, scheduled to take place at Sabina Park on Monday
Fraser-McGurk was a late call-up to the Caribbean tour, having initially been left out of the 16-player squad, and was recalled to the side as a replacement for Spencer Johnson, who was ruled out with back soreness first detected in the last edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Meanwhile, Mitchell Owen, the hero of Hobart's maiden Big Bash title last summer also included in the playing XI and will feature as a middle-order batter.
Short pulled up sore after training in Jamaica ahead of the first of a five-game T20 International series in the West Indies and has been sent home with a "minor" side strain.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star Tim David, who is currently on the road to recovery from a hamstring injury he got in IPL 2025, has missed the spot from the opener clash, and Cooper Connolly is set to bat at seven.
With Australia resting a lot of senior members, including Travis Head, Alex Carey and pace trio Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, the series provides an opportunity to fine-tune the squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup next year in India and Sri Lanka.
“First and foremost, it's always 'we're representing Australia, we're here to win the series and culturally, that's how we want to go about it," Australia’s T20I captain Mitch Marsh said while talking to cricket.com.au. "There will be guys that get opportunities. We've obviously got a few guys missing for this series (for) a well-earned rest."
"But we want guys to be flexible, fluid, and come together as a team and be really connected. We don't want anyone to come in here and feel like they have to prove themselves. We've really got a strong squad.
"We've got guys that have been on the fringes when those (all-format) guys are around, but in this series they come together as our attack and as our unit, and we've spoken about really being connected and working together, and they'll lead the team," he added.
Australia XI for the first T20I: Mitch Marsh (c), Jake Fraser-McGurk, Josh Inglis (wk), Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Owen, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa