Cricket news 2024: Scotland vs Australia T20 series preview, squads, fixtures, how to watch, video, highlights

Australia’s white-ball tour of the United Kingdom will offer fans a glimpse at the nation’s next generation of cricket stars, with the six T20s against Scotland and England giving the team’s fringe players an opportunity to shine.

Test captain Pat Cummins has been managed for the tour, while bowler Mitchell Starc and all-rounder Glenn Maxwell have been rested for the T20 leg of the tour. Josh Hazlewood has been sidelined for the Scotland T20s with a calf strain, while Brisbane Heat quick Spencer Johnson has been ruled out with a side injury.

With Australia’s first-choice pacemen unavailable, seamers Nathan Ellis and Xavier Bartlett have been given a chance to lead the bowling attack and push their case for further selection honours.

Ellis and Bartlett, both in the early stages of their international careers, have hardly put a foot wrong in Australian colours but rarely crack into the starting XI outside of contextless bilateral series when the ‘big three’ are rested.

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“Could sit here and talk for hours about how many great fast bowlers we have, so it’s just trying to break through, and if you do get an opportunity, it’s about trying to take it with both hands,” Bartlett told ESPNcricinfo last month.

“You watch our big three – Starc, Hazlewood and Cummins – they’ve been amazing for such a long time and it’s a testament to their skill, but also probably how many sacrifices they have made to keep themselves at such a high level for such a long period of time.”

Tasmanian quick Riley Meredith, who hasn’t played international cricket since 2021, also features in Australia’s T20 squad having replaced the injured Johnson at the eleventh hour.

Following his international retirement, former Australian opener David Warner passed the white-ball opening duties to rising star Jake Fraser-McGurk, posting to Instagram: “All yours now champion.”

Fraser-McGurk, who shined during his maiden ODI series against the West Indies earlier this year, looks destined to make his T20I debut this week, opening alongside Travis Head against Scotland in Edinburgh. The left-handed dynamo turned heads during this year’s Indian Premier League campaign, plundering 330 runs for the Delhi Capitals with an eye-watering strike rate of 234.04.

Adelaide Strikers opener Matthew Short might replace Fraser-McGurk at the top of the order once he joins the Australia squad for the England T20s following the birth of his first child. The Victorian, who has played 4 ODIs and nine T20Is for Australia, has been unstoppable in the Big Bash League over the past 24 months, smacking 999 runs at 45.40. However, national selectors have previously acknowledged they prefer him in the middle order.

“I look at guys like Matthew Wade and Marcus Stoinis who probably dominated domestic cricket at the top of the order and didn’t quite get the opportunities at the top they wanted for Australia,” Short said last week.

“So they had to adapt through the middle, which they’ve done really well, so any time you get selected for a squad, you’ll take batting in any position.

“Personally I think I’m suited more at the top of the order, but if I want to play more cricket for Australia, then I need to be able to play more positions.”

Maxwell’s absence has created a vacancy for West Australian all-rounders Cameron Green and Aaron Hardie in the middle order, both of whom are future prospects in all three formats.

Green hasn’t played a T20I since October 2022, while Hardie hasn’t produced his best on the international stage yet.

Meanwhile, veteran wicketkeeper Matthew Wade has paid the price for his forgettable T20 World Cup campaign in the Caribbean, losing his spot in the national team to West Australian gloveman Josh Inglis.

Having carried the drinks as Australia’s reserve wicketkeeper on nearly every overseas tour since 2021, Inglis has finally been recognised as the nation’s premier gloveman across both white-ball formats.

The 29-year-old scored his maiden international century during a T20I against India in Visakhapatnam last year, but the breakout knock remains his only 50+ score for Australia in the game’s shortest format.

“We’re excited about giving Josh a run,” chief selector George Bailey said of Inglis in July.

“He’s been waiting in the wings and (only) had small opportunities in the T20 space previously.

“We’re excited about him taking over a bit more permanently from now on and clearly he’s had a taste in the one-day team and we’re looking forward to that continuing as well.”

The other exciting addition to Australia’s T20 squad is West Australian young gun Cooper Connolly, who received his maiden national call-up for the United Kingdom tour.

Picked ahead of Ashton Agar as Australia’s reserve tweaker, the 21-year-old all-rounder could partner white-ball stalwart Adam Zampa for the Scotland T20s should conditions call for a second spinner.

Connolly, who hails from Perth’s northern suburbs, has never scored a T20 fifty, striking at 145.80 in the game’s shortest format predominantly as a finisher. He became a household name following last year’s BBL final when he steered the Scorchers towards a remarkable five-wicket victory over the Brisbane Heat at a heaving Perth Stadium.

“I certainly think he’s good enough to play (for Australia), and that really excites us,” Australian captain Mitchell Marsh told Fox Cricket last month.

“He’ll be up for the challenge, and he’s going to learn a lot being around some of our more experienced players.

“He’ll have a lot of fun.”

The first T20 between Scotland and Australia gets underway on Wednesday at 11pm AEST.

Australia’s T20 tour of Scotland

All times AEST

September 4 – First T20, Edinburgh, 11pm

September 6 – Second T20, Edinburgh, 11pm

September 7 – Third T20, Edinburgh, 11pm

Australia’s T20 Squad

Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Riley Meredith, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

Scotland’s T20 squad

Richie Berrington (c), Charlie Cassell, Matthew Cross, Bradley Currie, Jasper Davidson, Chris Greaves, Oli Hairs, Jack Jarvis, Michael Jones, Michael Leask, Brandon McMullen, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Charlie Tear, Mark Watt, Bradley Wheal