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After registering a clean sweep over West Indies in the three-match Test series, the action will now shift towards the white-ball series which consists of as many as five T20Is being played across two venues, Sabina Park in Jamaica and the Warner Park in St Kitts. The series will commence from July 21 (IST) with the first T20I set to be played at the Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica.
Just hours ahead of the series opener, Cricket Australia (CA) on Sunday, July 20 announced their playing XI. While the side will be led by Mitchell Marsh, Mitch Owen is all set to make his T20I debut after a brilliant Big Bash League (BBL) season with the Hobart Hurricanes. The top-order batter finds a call-up after his batting brilliance which saw him score 452 runs in 11 BBL matches at an average of 45.20.
Mitchell Owen to open with Jake Fraser-McGurk in 1 st T20I vs WI
Seeing Owen find a place in the XI, he will open Australia’s batting alongside Jake Fraser-McGurk, who finds a place with Matt Short being sidelined due to a side strain. It is to be noted that Jake Fraser-McGurk was added to the squad after Spencer Johnson was ruled out with a back soreness.
Apart from these changes, Tim David is also sidelined from the series opener as he recovers from a hamstring injury which he sustained during IPL 2025. Furthermore, several senior players, who were part of the Test series, including Alex Carey, Travis Head, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood have been rested and are not part of the T20I squad.
Speaking after the announcement, skipper Marsh said, "First and foremost, it's always 'we're representing Australia, we're here to win the series' and culturally, that's how we want to go about it. There will be guys that get opportunities. We've obviously got a few guys missing for this series (for) a well-earned rest."
Australia’s Playing XI for first T20I vs West Indies:
Mitch Marsh (c), Jake Fraser-McGurk, Josh Inglis (wk), Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Owen, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa
