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Australia omit star pace trio for England series
Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc in yellow Australia kits, wearing medals and holding the ODI World Cup trophy
Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc won the 2023 ODI World Cup with Australia

Australia have omitted the star pace trio of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc from their squads for the upcoming white-ball series against England.

The veteran seamers played all three Tests in the recent 2-1 series defeat by South Africa and have been rested for the three-match ODI series that starts in Perth on 13 November.

Cummins and Hazlewood have also been left out for the five-match T20 series that begins on 21 November, while Starc, 36, has already retired from the format.

Fast bowler Mahli Beardman, 21, has been named in both squads and could make his international debut in ODIs, while the uncapped pair of Sam Harper and Lachlan Shaw have been included for the T20s.

Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis and Matt Renshaw, who also played in the South Africa series, are included for the ODIs but do not feature in the T20 squad.

Although Cummins, 33, formally remains the ODI captain, he has only played one 50-over fixture since November 2024 and Mitchell Marsh, his frequent deputy and T20 skipper, will step in again for the longer format.

Seamer Nathan Ellis, a white-ball regular, is only included in the T20 squad after suffering a side strain in the September ODI tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe, while fellow pacer Jack Edwards is named in both squads after making his debut on that trip.

All-rounder Liam Scott, who played one 50-over match against Bangladesh in June, is recalled to the ODI squad, while spinners Nikhil Chaudhary and Joel Davies, who both made their only T20 appearances on the same tour, are selected for the 20-over fixtures.

Top-order batters Jake Fraser-McGurk and Mitchell Owen are recalled to the T20 squads after not featuring in recent series, while Tim David is only selected for the shorter format despite a recent return to 50-over domestic cricket.

Australia face intense Test schedule

Following the final England T20 on 2 December, Australia will start a heavy pre-Ashes Test schedule in which Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood, 35, will be expected to feature frequently.

They begin a four-match home Test series against New Zealand on 9 December before travelling for a five-Test series against India that starts on 21 January.

They then face England in a one-off Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground from 11 March, celebrating 150 years of the Ashes, prior to the Indian Premier League.

Australia could also conceivably reach the World Test Championship final at the Oval on 9 June, shortly before the five-game Ashes series that runs from 18 June to 2 August.

The ODI World Cup in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe will then begin on 7 October.

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