Australia call up Fraser-McGurk, Bartlett for West Indies ODIs

Jake Fraser-McGurk and Xavier Bartlett have been included in Australia’s squad for the three-match ODI series against West Indies, starting from February 2. The team will be led by Steven Smith.

Fraser-McGurk, 21, has been the talk of the town after smashing that world-record 29-ball century in the Marsh Cup last year. Overall, the right-handed batter has hit 468 runs in 15 List A innings at a strike rate of 140.11. Even in the BBL, Fraser-McGurk scored  257 runs at 32.12 and a strike rate of 158.64.

Meanwhile, Bartlett is the leading wicket-taker in the ongoing BBL season. The right-arm seamer has 17 wickets in nine innings at an average of 14.82. In List A cricket, Bartlett has 23 wickets @ 36.17 and an economy rate of 5.37.

The likes of Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood have all been rested, while Jhye Richardson is out injured. 

The first ODI will be played in Melbourne on February 2, while the next two will happen in Sydney (February 4) and Canberra (February 6) respectively. 

Squad - Steven Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Lance Morris, Matt Short, Adam Zampa.