Australia have named their first-choice opening duo of Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head for the T20 World Cup, which is set to commence in Sri Lanka and India next year.
The T20I skipper, Mitchell Marsh, on Friday confirmed that he and southpaw Travis Head will occupy the top two spots until next year’s shorter format World Cup.
The announcement came ahead of the three-match T20I series opener against South Africa, which is set to begin on August 10 at Darwin.
“It’ll be myself and Heady [Travis Head] up the top for the foreseeable future,” Marsh told reporters in Darwin on Friday.
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“Obviously we’ve played a lot together, (we’ve) got a great relationship, so (we’ll) start there.”
Australia is coming off a 5-0 clean sweep over West Indies, where Marsh opened the batting in all five matches, a thing he had done only once before the tour.
Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head had never opened in the T20I format for Australia; however, they have been pivotal in ODIs, boasting an excellent record.
The pair have amassed 282 runs in just five innings at a stellar average of 70.50 in the shorter format.
Across all formats, Marsh and Head have accumulated 504 runs across 14 innings at an average of 38.67, including one century and three half-century partnerships.
Australia T20 squad:
Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matt Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Owen, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa
Schedule of Australia-South Africa T20I SeriesÂ
August 10: First T20I, Marrara Stadium, Darwin
August 12: Second T20I, Marrara Stadium, Darwin
August 16: Third T20I, Cazalys Stadium, Cairns
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