Mitchell Marsh named Australia's T20I skipper for South Africa, uncapped trio earn call-ups

Mitchell Marsh has been named Australia's T20I skipper for the tour of South Africa, with the 2024 T20 World Cup less than a year away. South Australia's left-arm speedster Spenser Johnson, Western Australia's Aaron Hardie and Adelaide Strikers' Matthew Short are all in line for an international debut during the three-match T20I series. 

Star all-rounder Mitchell Marsh became the 12th Men's player to lead Australia in T20 cricket. He would be looking forward to impressing the selectors with his captaincy acumen. The 31-year-old was in good form during the Ashes, as he scored 250 runs in three matches at an average of 50. He scored a spectacular century in the third Test at Leeds and would hope to build on the good form against Aiden Markram and Co.

Interestingly, all-rounder Hardie has also been named in Australia's preliminary squad for the ODI World Cup in October-November. After an intense Ashes series that ended 2-2, Australia will move on to the shortest format of the game as they face the Proteas in a three-match T20I series. All three games are scheduled to be held in Durban. The first T20I will be played on August 30.

Spencer Johnson showed promise during the inaugural season of Major League Cricket, as he was one of the rare bright spots for the Los Angeles Knight Riders in what was a horrendous campaign for them. The tall left-arm pacer bowls at decent speeds and has the ability to swing the ball both ways.

Hardie, who is a right-arm medium pacer, has taken the wickets of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Joe Root in tour matches. He can also tonk the ball when required. The 24-year-old has been rewarded for his performances for Australia A. Matthew Short, on the other hand, has been a well-known figure in franchise leagues around the world. He has scored some important runs at the top of the order and also played six matches during the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League for Punjab Kings. The right-handed batter will be looking to make good use of whatever opportunities he gets, as Australia wouldn't mind a top-order batter heading into the T20 World Cup in 2024.

Australia T20 squad vs South Africa: Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Jason Behrendorff, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Steven Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa