T20 World Cup: Steve Smith misses out as Mitch Marsh to lead Australia’s 15-man squad
Cricket Australia (CA) on Wednesday announced that star all-rounder Mitchell Marsh will lead their 15-player squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
This is the first time Steve Smith has been excluded from a World Cup squad in a decade. Jake Fraser-McGurk’s bid for a spot on the team also fell short. Ashton Agar and Cameron Green are notable inclusions despite their absence from international T20 cricket for nearly 18 months.
Mitch Marsh, who has been leading the T20I side on an interim basis for the past year, has been officially appointed as captain. Smith, a stalwart of Australia’s white-ball World Cup campaigns, has been a key figure in their victories in 2015 and 2023 (ODI) as well as 2021 (T20). This marks the first time since 2014 that the 34-year-old has been left out of an Australian World Cup squad, having featured in the last T20 World Cup held in the Caribbean in 2010.
“It’s been an immense privilege to play for my country and now an even greater honour to lead the squad to a World Cup,” said Marsh, whose selection as T20I captain was ratified by the Cricket Australia Board on Wednesday morning. “We have had some strong success in recent times and I am hopeful that will continue in what looks like a wide-open tournament.”
Smith has been a regular presence in Australia’s previous five white-ball World Cups, helping them win in 2015, 2023 (ODI), and 2021 (T20). The 34-year-old, who competed in the last T20 showpiece tournament staged in the Caribbean in 2010, has not missed an Australian World Cup selection since 2014. However, he has gradually fallen out of favour in the shortest format in recent years, appearing in only one game at the 2022 T20 World Cup, as Australia has prioritised big middle-order batsmen such as Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, and Tim David.
Australia’s T20 World Cup squad: Mitch Marsh (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.