Cummins to gear up for Pakistan ODIs while Marsh and Head take paternity leave

Australia captain Pat Cummins will kick off his preparation for the upcoming Test summer by leading the ODI series against Pakistan, as both Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head will be unavailable due to paternity leave for the three-match contest.

Cummins has been named captain of Australia's 14-man squad that was announced on Monday for the series that begins on November 4 at the MCG. The squad is missing Marsh and Head who both have babies due in the coming weeks. Cameron Green who has been ruled out of the summer after opting for back surgery.

Cummins is unlikely to play a Sheffield Shield game before the five-Test series against India. He will instead get all his preparation in via 50-over cricket. He will likely play a one-day domestic fixture for New South Wales on October 25 before captaining the first ODI.

It remains to be seen whether Cummins will play all three ODIs against Pakistan given there is just a one-day break between the second and the third matches in Adelaide and Perth with a lengthy flight in between. Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc have also been named in the ODI squad but it appears likely that the bowling attack will be rotated as both Hazlewood and Starc are hoping to play at least one Shield match before the ODIs.

Related

Green out for the season as he takes surgery option

"This is our last ODI series before the Champions Trophy and the balance of the squad was focussed on that as well as continuing to focus on preparation of individuals for the upcoming Test summer," chair of selectors George Bailey said. "The one-day side had a great result in the UK particularly given illness and injury challenges. We view this is an opportunity to expand on that achievement in preparation for next February in Pakistan."

Marcus Stoinis makes his ODI return having not played since the 2023 World Cup. He was not selected for the ODI portion of the tour of the UK but did play in the T20I series against Scotland and England. Stoinis currently doesn't have a state or CA contract, although he is close to qualifying for an upgrade, and hasn't played in any domestic one-day matches for Western Australia at the start of the summer. But he remains in the plans for the Champions Trophy in Pakistan, especially now given Green's injury and will be a key all-round figure alongside the emerging Aaron Hardie if Australia want to play an allrounder-heavy XI.

Josh Inglis is the sole wicketkeeper in the squad with the in-form Alex Carey left out for the Pakistan series despite strong performances against England on his ODI return.

The absence of Head and Marsh will open the door for a new opening combination with Matthew Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk a good chance to combine throughout the series. Short was one of Australia's shining lights on the tour of the UK while Fraser-McGurk did not get a chance in the ODIs but looks set to play in the upcoming series.

Cooper Connolly, who made his ODI debut in England, is the only player named in both the ODI and the Australia A squad for two four-day matches against India A that clash with the ODI series. The first four-day game in Mackay ends on November 3 ahead of the first ODI on November 4 while the second four-day game at the MCG runs from November 7-10 with the second and third ODIs being played on November 8 and 10. Connolly appears likely to play the first Australia A game before joining the ODI squad for the second match.

Australia are yet to name the T20I squad for the three-match series that follows the ODIs against Pakistan. of Australia's Test players will play in that series which runs from November 14 to 18 as they will rest for the first Test which starts on November 22.

That will mean Australia will need a new T20I captain given Marsh, Head and Cummins won't feature. They will also have a different coaching staff as head coach Andrew McDonald and a number of his assistants will sit out to prepare for India.

Australia ODI squad vs Pakistan

Pat Cummins (capt), Sean Abbott, Cooper Connolly, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa