Mitch Marsh to lead Australia at cricket's Twenty20 World Cup. Steve Smith misses selection
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Mitch Marsh will captain Australia at the Twenty20 World Cup next month, leading a national cricket squad that is missing veteran Steve Smith and up-and-coming batter Jake Fraser-McGurk.
Marsh was confirmed as T20 captain on Wednesday after sharing the duties on an interim basis since the retirement last year of Aaron Finch.
Smith’s omission for the tournament starting June 1 in the United States and Caribbean means it’ll be the first time since 2012 he’s missed a World Cup in the limited-overs formats.
The 34-year-old Smith has signed for the Washington Freedom for the second season of Major League Cricket in the United States which starts July 4, four days after the T20 World Cup concludes.
Fraser-McGurk surged into selection calculations on the back of his 233.33 strike rate in the Indian Premier League, but it wasn’t enough to replace Travis Head or the veteran David Warner at the global tournament.