John Hastings returned to Australia’s ODI side in September for the first time in four years © Getty Images
Mitchell Marsh‘s elevated place in Australia’s plans has been underlined by the national selectors’ decision to rest him from the second ODI against India in Brisbane in order to give him an extra day’s rest at home in Perth.
While Marsh played only a limited role in Australia’s Test summer, his participation in all six Tests left the panel to conclude he needed some rest amid limited-overs assignments that prelude February’s tour of New Zealand. The Victorian John Hastings has been duly requisitioned from the Melbourne Stars Big Bash League side to be part of the ODI squad in Brisbane.
“Mitch is a tremendous asset to Australian cricket and we are conscious of managing his workload and his travel, especially with so much cricket to come during the rest of this summer and beyond,” the selection chairman Rod Marsh said. “By taking this decision we have opted to give him an extra day at home in Perth after match one, before he flies to Melbourne on Thursday to prepare for Sunday’s third match of the series.
“In John Hastings we have a high-quality replacement, a player who has been in excellent form for the Melbourne Stars in the ongoing BBL. John also showed his quality with a match-winning spell of 3 for 21 in the decisive one-day international of the series against England in Manchester in September, so we know what he can do if called upon.
“At this stage John will be with the squad only for game two but should we suffer any injuries to our bowlers in either Perth or Brisbane then we may look at retaining his services for longer.”
Hastings will thus miss the Stars’ next BBL match against the Brisbane Heat in Melbourne on Thursday, before likely returning in time for their final qualifying match ahead of the tournament finals.
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo