Tag: Mahli Beardman

LAHORE: Cricket Australia (CA) on Thursday announced their Playing XI for the opening T20I against Pakistan, set to be played later today at the Gaddafi Stadium, with three uncapped players included in the lineup.

Australia will be led by opener Travis Head, who is set to captain the side in the series opener as regular skipper Mitchell Marsh has been rested to manage his workload.

Marsh has been on the go for several months and recently played the entire Big Bash League (BBL) season for champions Perth Scorchers, before arriving late in Pakistan after playing the season finale.

Meanwhile, Mahli Beardman and Jack Edwards are set to make their international debuts, while Matthew Renshaw will play his first-ever T20I for Australia.

The 29-year-old left-handed batter has already represented Australia in 14 Tests and three ODIs since making his international debut in 2016, but Thursday’s fixture will mark his first appearance in the shortest format at the international level.

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The remaining two matches of the three-game series will also be played at the same venue on January 31 and February 1, respectively.

The matches are scheduled to begin at 4:00pm PKT, with the toss taking place at 3:30pm PKT.

Notably, the series serves as key preparation for both sides ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, set to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8.

Pakistan have been placed in Group A alongside India, USA, the Netherlands and Namibia, while Australia will feature in Group B with Sri Lanka, Ireland, Zimbabwe and Oman.

Australia Playing XI vs Pakistan

Travis Head (c), Matt Short, Cameron Green, Matthew Renshaw, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Josh Philippe, Jack Edwards, Xavier Bartlett, Mahli Beardman, Adam Zampa.

READ: Finch, Clarke stunned over Haris Rauf’s exclusion from Pakistan T20I squad

Mahli Beardman, a 19-year-old paceman with just six overs in senior professional cricket behind him, has been put on standby as Australia unveiled squad for this month’s one-day international series away to England.

Beardman was named player of the match after taking 3-15 in just seven overs as Australia thrashed India by 79 runs in February’s Under-19 World Cup final in South Africa.

But he has played just one List A (limited-overs) game for Western Australia, finishing with figures of 1-42 against New South Wales in the Marsh Cup last November.

Mahli Beardman will now join the Australia squad in Nottingham as the 50-over world champions prepare for the first of a five-game ODI series against England at Trent Bridge on Thursday.

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Australia have already seen injuries blight their pace attack during the T20 leg of their tour, with Nathan Ellis, Riley Meredith and Xavier Bartlett all affected, and they are also wary of adding too much to the workload of senior fast bowlers Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc.

Left-armer Ben Dwarshuis, who has already played for Durham and Northern Superchargers in English domestic cricket this season, and Cooper Connolly, who had been due to leave after the drawn T20 series with England, have also been added to Australia’s ODI squad.

Australia Squad for England ODIs: Mitch Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa.

READ: Aliya’s fifty goes in vain as South Africa edge Pakistan in first T20I