With James Pattinson joining Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, Australia will have a wealth of genuine pace options at the Champions Trophy © Getty Images
The return of the fast bowler James Pattinson and the inclusion of Moises Henriques ahead of James Faulkner among the allrounders are the two major talking points to emerge from the announcement of Australia’s 15-man squad for the Champions Trophy.
Steven Smith, who missed Australia’s last ODI assignment – the Chappell-Hadlee series in New Zealand – with an ankle injury, is back as expected to lead the side, as is vice-captain David Warner, who was rested.
Chris Lynn, whose participation in the rest of the ongoing IPL season is in doubt after he injured himself on the field during Kolkata Knight Riders’ match against Mumbai Indians on April 9, has also found a place in the squad. With Australia only playing their first Champions Trophy match on June 2, Lynn has a fair amount of time to make a full recovery.
Pattinson, who last played an ODI in September 2015, has been in roaring form since his return from a long-term injury, taking 24 wickets at 17.41 for Victoria in the Sheffield Shield and carrying that form into the County Championship for Nottinghamshire, taking 13 wickets in two matches at 12.92. His inclusion gives Australia a wealth of genuine pace options, with Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood also in the mix.
Henriques has been an irregular member of Australia’s ODI squad, playing only eight matches between his debut in 2009 and his last match in August 2016. He has scored 46 runs at 6.57 and taken six wickets with his medium-pace at 40.83.
Faulkner has greater ODI experience – 67 matches, with averages of 34.06 and 30.08 with bat and ball – and was Player of the Match in the final of the 2015 World Cup. Since then, while his left-arm seam has remained an effective weapon, his batting returns have fallen away, with his last 17 innings yielding a high score of 36 and an average of 17.40.
It is also possible that a lack of recent match practice has gone against Faulkner, who has not featured a competitive game since playing for Tasmania against Queensland in the Sheffield Shield in early March. He is yet to play a match for his IPL team, Gujarat Lions, this season. Henriques, on the other hand, has featured in all but one of Sunrisers Hyderabad’s six matches, scoring 138 runs at an average of 46.00 and a strike rate of 127.77, and taking one wicket in 10 overs.
Marcus Stoinis and John Hastings are the two other seam-bowling allrounders in Australia’s squad, with Glenn Maxwell and Travis Head providing part-time offspin back-up to Adam Zampa’s legspin.
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo