Australia named their playing XI for the first ODI against Zimbabwe on Saturday, August 2, which will be played at Tony Ireland Stadium in Townsville. Since his previous appearance in the 50-over format against the West Indies in July 2021, Mitchell Starc has made a comeback.
Marcus Stoinis, Steve Smith, and Starc replaced Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis, and Matthew Kuhnemann. Aaron Finch, the Australian captain, suggested entering the match with an all-round team after opting out of playing Labuschagne.
"The reasoning behind Marnus (missing out) is we're just going with an all-rounder-heavy side. Two quicks plus Zampa and Cameron Green as the fourth genuine bowler. And then using Marsh, Stoinis, Maxwell as our fifth bowler effectively,” Finch was quoted as saying to reporters on Saturday.
Smith being sent at No. 3 is a "no-brainer," according to Finch. The batting No. 4 for the forthcoming game, Alex Carey, received appreciation from the captain as well.
"It's a way of lengthening our batting, and I think it's important we keep trying to juggle the structure of the team around a bit over the next little while. We don't want to get pigeonholed into playing in one particular structure of team," he added.
Pat Cummins, the captain of Australia's Test team, has since received a break. Adam Zampa has also joined the group after missing the Sri Lanka tour owing to the birth of his child.
Australia XI for first ODI:
Aaron Finch (c), David Warner, Steve Smith, Alex Carey (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
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