Aussie cricket fans have been left bewildered after young sensation Jake Fraser-McGurk and Steve Smith were left out of the World Cup T20 squad while veterans Marcus Stoinis and David Warner made the team. Fraser-McGurk has been a revelation for Australia in T20 cricket having made 257 runs in the latest Big Bash tournament.
He stunned home fans when he debuted for Australia and smashed 41 runs off 18 balls against the West Indies earlier this year. He has now taken the IPL by storm. He has since joined coach Ricky Ponting at the Delhi Capitals and scored three half-centuries in just six innings. And with his form been so hard to ignore, Ponting an the coaching team moved Fraser-McGurk up the order in place of Warner. And the 22-year-old has been devastating having launched many of the world's best bowlers over the rope.
Despite replacing veteran Aussie opener Warner, there was no position in the Australian squad for the promising 22-year-old. Warner's inclusion in the squad suggests George Bailey will open with the 37-year-old with Travis Head.
Another big omission was Aussie great Smith. The recent One Day International World Cup winner hasn't been in the best of white-ball form in recent years and admitted he wasn't so sure where he finds himself in the current starting XI. And with Warner, Head, Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell all taking up the top positions, Smith has found himself on the outer and will not travel to the US and West Indies for the World Cup.
Smith's exclusion marks the first time he has not been selected for an Australia squad – other than for injury – in more than a decade. He last missed a World Cup back in 2012. While Smith has not been in form, many felt he could travel with the squad. Fraser-McGurk's snub has left more fans baffled. Warner has already announced this would be his last tournament for Australia having already retired from red-ball cricket.
Although many fans find it hard to see how Warner was selected in his position ahead of a future star of Australian cricket. This comes as Warner's form has dipped in the IPL and he has been dropped from the team. Others have also pointed out the inclusion of Stoinis as an odd selection with the allrounder struggling for form in recent years, other than a late push in the IPL across the last three games.
No Jake Fraser-McGurk in Australia's squad for the World Cup.
Also, no Steve Smith. Thought Smudge may have made the cut as an option should Australia choose to play an anchor, especially if they reach the business end of the tournament.#T20WorldCup
— CricBlog ✍ (@cric_blog) May 1, 2024
Green and Stoinis in the squad but not Smith, group stage exit loading
— Lubana Warriors (@LubanaS49) May 1, 2024
I don’t often buy in to who should or shouldn’t be picked in sides, I do feel though that JFM and Short for Wade ( sorry be awesome but Inglis needs to keep) and Agar would be a stronger squad
— Alan Burrows (@AlanBurrows5) May 1, 2024
Picking Stoinis, Wade & Agar over the likes of Short & JFM is an absolute sham
— Chris Bradbury (@ChrisBradbury87) May 1, 2024
How does Marcus Stoinis keep getting a gig???
— Brad (@Bitey_26) May 1, 2024
How is Warner picked over Jake Fraser-McGurk
— Mathew Lappin (@lappin77) May 1, 2024
No @mattshort95 or JFM is an absolute farce. Let's pick Stoin who has done NOTHING for YEARS in an international team 🙄🙄🙄
— Nathan Scoble (@Scobey_SCHub) May 1, 2024
A number of other big names missed out on the squad with bowling sensation Spencer Johnson and batter Matt Short unfortunate not to be included. Bailey admitted it was a tough decision to leave them out.
“Steve Smith, Matt Short, Jason Behrendorff, Aaron Hardie, Spencer Johnson and Xavier Bartlett were all part of long conversations, along with several others, including Jake Fraser-McGurk, who is yet to play T20 International cricket but continues to impress and is developing rapidly,” Bailey said.
“Being constrained to a squad of 15 for World Cups is always a challenge given the different scenarios and options we’d like to cover. We will continue monitoring several players who have missed out on this preliminary squad and note that if we wish to change this squad, we have the option to do so over the coming weeks in accordance with ICC regulations.
"Ultimately, the balance of the final 15 needs to provide the best chance of being successful in this campaign.” Marsh was announced as captain, instead of Cummins, with selectors confident he would overcome a hamstring injury heading into the tournament.
