Sydney, 02 November (H.S.): Australia have announced their One-Day International (ODI) and T20 squads for the limited-overs series against England scheduled to begin later this month. Young fast bowler Mahli Beardman, promising batter Ollie Peake, and all-rounders Jack Edwards and Liam Scott have been included in the ODI squad. Nikhil Chaudhary and Joel Davies have earned places in the T20 squad, while wicketkeeper-batters Lachlan Shaw and Sam Harper could be in line for their international debuts.

The three-match ODI and five-match T20 International series between Australia and England will begin in Perth on November 13. The home series could provide eight players with an opportunity to make their international debuts on Australian soil. Beardman, Peake, Edwards, Chaudhary, Scott and Davies have already made their international debuts in white-ball cricket during Australia's tours of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and South Africa this year. Harper and Shaw, however, are yet to represent Australia at the international level.

The core group of experienced players has been retained in Australia's limited-overs squads under the captaincy of Mitchell Marsh. However, fast bowlers Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood have been rested. Australia face a demanding schedule, with 10 consecutive Test matches lined up from December following the three-Test series against South Africa.

Following Australia's Test defeat to South Africa in Cape Town, Travis Head, Matthew Renshaw, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis and Cooper Connolly have been included in the ODI squad. However, none of these players will feature in the T20 series.

Australia are scheduled to play a four-Test series against New Zealand, beginning in Perth on December 9. New Zealand currently lead the World Test Championship standings. Australia will look to regain momentum on home soil after losing three of their last five home Tests. The team will subsequently tour India for a five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. A special Test match will also be staged in Melbourne in March to mark the 150th anniversary of Test cricket.

Mahli Beardman made his international debut in Lahore in January last year but encountered discomfort during a training session ahead of the second match of the series. Subsequent examinations revealed a stress fracture in his back, which affected his previous season. After recovering from the injury, he delivered impressive performances for Australia A in limited-overs matches during their tour of India in October. In one match in Puducherry, he claimed four wickets for 23 runs in six overs.

Cricket Australia quoted national selection panel chairman George Bailey as saying that Beardman was among the players being groomed to develop into an all-format cricketer in the coming years.

“Mahli Beardman's recent performances for Australia A have been impressive. We are extremely excited about his return to the national team across both the ODI and T20 formats,” Bailey said.

Ollie Peake and Jack Edwards made their ODI debuts in Rawalpindi and Durban, respectively. Beardman and Edwards made their T20 International debuts in Lahore, while Chaudhary and Davies made their first appearances in the format in Chattogram.

Peake showcased his batting potential in the middle order during Australia's tour of Zimbabwe, scoring 24 runs in the final over of one match. Edwards, meanwhile, demonstrated his bowling prowess by claiming five wickets against South Africa in Johannesburg.

Jake Fraser-McGurk has returned to Australia's T20 squad after an 18-month absence from international cricket. Mitch Owen has also been included in the squad. George Bailey expressed satisfaction with the progress made by both players.

“Jake and Mitch are returning to the T20 side. We believe their ability to strike the ball powerfully can make a difference for the team in the shorter formats,” he said.

He added, “Both are good examples of players who have received opportunities at the international level and continued working on their game by learning from those experiences.”

Josh Inglis scored a century in the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town and remains in contention for a place in Australia's Test squad for the series against New Zealand. Consequently, he has been rested for the T20 series, opening up an opportunity for wicketkeeper-batters Lachlan Shaw and Sam Harper, who are both awaiting their international debuts.

Shaw was appointed captain of New South Wales' One-Day Cup team this season. In the absence of Nic Maddinson, he also led the Sheffield Shield side. He has delivered encouraging performances for Australia A as well.

Harper, meanwhile, was named the Big Bash League's Player of the Tournament last season. He was also included in Australia's Test squad for the tour of South Africa, although he did not get an opportunity to play.

Praising Shaw, Bailey said, “Lachie Shaw is an extremely talented cricketer. We believe he will develop rapidly. He has a powerful game that could prove beneficial to the team in the T20 format.”

Speaking about Harper, he said, “Sam Harper has been performing consistently well in domestic cricket. He is in an excellent place with his game at the moment and is consistently executing his style across all formats.”

Fast bowler Nathan Ellis is recovering from a side-muscle injury sustained during the second ODI against South Africa in the final week of September. As a result, he will miss the ODI series but is expected to return for the T20 matches. Meanwhile, Matt Short has not been included in Australia's limited-overs squads this year. He is expected to remain sidelined for the next five weeks following hip surgery.

Australia's ODI squad: Mitchell Marsh (captain), Xavier Bartlett, Mahli Beardman, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Jack Edwards, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Ollie Peake, Matthew Renshaw, Liam Scott and Adam Zampa.

Australia's T20 squad: Mitchell Marsh (captain), Xavier Bartlett, Mahli Beardman, Nikhil Chaudhary, Tim David, Joel Davies, Jack Edwards, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sam Harper, Spencer Johnson, Mitch Owen, Lachlan Shaw and Adam Zampa.

Australia-England ODI series schedule

- First ODI: November 13, Perth Stadium, 2:30 pm local time.

- Second ODI: November 15, Adelaide Oval, 2:30 pm local time.

- Third ODI: November 18, Bellerive Oval, Hobart, 2:30 pm local time.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar