Dan Christian among six additions to Australia's preliminary limited-overs squad

Ben McDermott, Dan Christian, Cameron Green, Ashton Turner, Wes Agar and Nathan Ellis were added to Australia's preliminary squad for limited-overs series against West Indies and Bangladesh, Cricket Australia (CA) announced on Tuesday. 

The decision to make the additions was taken following the discussions between CA and the players in the initial preliminary list. The Board noted that extended periods of spending time within bio-bubbles have had an impact on the well being of the players and their families.

"The six additions to the Australian men's squad follow discussions with players selected in the initial preliminary list for the tours of the West Indies and Bangladesh," national selector Trevor Hohns said "During the course of those discussions, it has become clear that recent experiences abroad, including but not limited to extended periods in bio-secure hubs and hard quarantine, have had an impact on the health and wellbeing of some players and their families.

"CA has maintained that the wellbeing of players, staff and officials is a top priority, and never more so than during the Covid-19 pandemic given the extraordinary challenges it has placed upon international athletes and sporting teams," Hohns added.

Middle-order batsman McDermott has so far played 12 T20Is for Australia and has scored 1660 runs in the shortest format at an average of 31.32 and a strike rate of 130.70. Christian, who is a veteran of 350 T20 matches, has been a key player across T20 leagues across the world, including playing his part in Sydney Sixers' title win in the Big Bash League 2020-21 season.

"Cameron (Green) made his ODI debut last summer against India and the NSP believes he has tremendous potential in the white- and red-ball formats, while Ashton (Turner) has performed well across his 17 ODI and T20I matches for Australia dating back to 2017," added Hohns. 

"Wes (Agar) and Nathan (Ellis), meanwhile, were among the leading wicket-takers during the summer's BBL and are viewed by the NSP as players who could make a genuine impact at international level."

Australia will play five T20Is against West Indies from July 9-16, with all five matches to be played in St. Lucia. The three ODIs that follow will be played in Barbados from July 20-24. The following month, they are set to play five T20Is against Bangladesh.