Melbourne: Wicketkeeper-batsman Alex Carey will lead Australia A in the three-day practice game against Pakistan ahead of the two-Test series beginning November 21. The three-day practice game will be a first-class day-night fixture beginning November 11 at the Perth Stadium.
Carey’s selection, alongside a strong pool of other players which has five batsmen with Test experience of the three-day tour game, conveys that the Australian selectors are creating a high-stakes bat-off among leading contenders ahead of the Test series.
Both Usman Khawaja and Travis Head have been named as vice-captains for the practice game.
No spinner has been selected for the three-day match with national selector Trevor Hohns indicating the three-day, day-night nature of the contest meant a spinner would likely receive limited opportunities to bowl.
“We will closely monitor performances in this match as well as the coming round of the Sheffield Shield before deciding upon our squad for the two-Test series against Pakistan,” Hohns was quoted as saying in a statement by cricket.com.au.
“Alex Carey has proven himself to be an exceptional leader in his role as vice-captain of the Australian men’s one-day international and Twenty20 international teams.
“This fixture represents an opportunity to provide Alex with more leadership experience and he will be supported by two experienced vice-captains in Usman Khawaja and Travis Head,” he added.
Australia A squad: Alex Carey (c), Marcus Harris, Joe Burns, Usman Khawaja, Will Pucovski, Travis Head, Nic Maddinson, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, Sean Abbott, Riley Meredith.
Pakistan squad: Azhar Ali (c), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Imran Khan Snr, Iftikhar Ahmed, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Musa Khan, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Yasir Shah. IANS