Josh Hazlewood will miss the T20I series against Scotland next month after suffering a calf strain during training last week.
Riley Meredith, who played the last of his five T20Is in 2021, has been added to the squad. Hazlewood’s injury is described as minor and he is expected to be available for the T20Is and ODIs against England later in September although the selectors may take a cautious approach ahead of a busy home summer which includes five Tests against India.
Meredith has been played for Somerset in white-ball cricket during the English season. He took 14 wickets at 22.78 in the T20 Blast and six wickets in three one-day cup games, including 4 for 27 against Middlesex at Lord’s, where Somerset have reached the final. He has taken eight T20I wickets having played against New Zealand and West Indies three years ago.
The pace attack for the Scotland series will now feature Meredith, Xavier Bartlett, Sean Abbott and Nathan Ellis alongside allrounders Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie and Marcus Stoinis plus potentially captain Mitchell Marsh. Adam Zampa and the uncapped Cooper Connolly will provide the spin.
Hazlewood had been the only one of Australia’s big three quicks initially included for the full tour of the UK. Mitchell Starc will feature in the ODIs against England while Pat Cummins is missing the entire trip to focus on strength and condition ahead of the home summer.
“The priority at the moment is to smash out some gym work and start reassessing in a few weeks a path forward,” Cummins said last week. “I’m just trying to fill up the bucket again after two years of non-stop bowling. [Hoping] come that first Test [against India] in as good of a position as I have been in for a few years.”
Australia fly out to Scotland on Monday with the first T20I taking place in Edinburgh on September 4.
Australia T20I squad vs Scotland
Mitchell Marsh (capt), Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Riley Meredith, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa
