WI vs AUS 2025: Matt Short ruled out of Caribbean T20Is, Jake Fraser-McGurk earns recall
"First and foremost, it's always 'we're representing Australia, we're here to win the series' and culturally, that's how we want to go about it. There will be guys that get opportunities," said Marsh.
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Matt Short has been ruled out of Australia’s T20I tour of the Caribbean, paving the way for a recall for Jake Fraser-McGurk in the five-match series. Short pulled up sore during training in Jamaica ahead of the series opener and has been sent home after being diagnosed with a minor side strain.
Fraser-McGurk, initially left out of the 16-player squad, was already on standby, having earlier replaced Spencer Johnson, who withdrew due to back soreness detected during this year’s IPL.
Fraser-McGurk will be looking to reignite his international career, which has so far yielded 113 runs from seven T20Is at a strike rate of 143.03. He made headlines during the 2023–24 domestic One-Day Cup, scoring a world-record century off just 29 balls, before making his T20I debut against the West Indies.
Meanwhile, Mitch Owen is set to make his debut as planned and will slot into the middle order. Tim David, recovering from a hamstring injury sustained while playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in IPL 2025, has been rested for the first T20I, with Cooper Connolly to bat at No. 7.
Fraser-McGurk enters the Caribbean series on the back of a mixed campaign with the San Francisco Unicorns in Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025. The Australian side will play five T20Is in nine days, with games across Jamaica and St Kitts.
Short is expected to return in time for Australia’s home white-ball series against South Africa, beginning August 10 in Darwin. Several senior players, including Travis Head, Alex Carey, and the pace trio of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood, are resting after Australia’s 3-0 sweep of the Frank Worrell Trophy.
Aussie skipper Mitch Marsh noted that the Caribbean tour will be a key opportunity for fringe players to make a case for selection ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026, to be held in India and Sri Lanka next February.
"First and foremost, it's always 'we're representing Australia, we're here to win the series' and culturally, that's how we want to go about it. There will be guys that get opportunities. We've obviously got a few guys missing for this series (for) a well-earned rest,” Marsh said to cricket.com.au.
"But we want guys to be flexible, fluid, and come together as a team and be really connected. We don't want anyone to come in here and feel like they have to prove themselves. We've really got a strong squad. We've got guys that have been on the fringes when those (all-format) guys are around, but in this series they come together as our attack and as our unit, and we've spoken about really being connected and working together, and they'll lead the team," he added.
Australia playing XI for the first T20I vs West Indies:
Mitch Marsh (c), Jake Fraser-McGurk, Josh Inglis (wk), Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Owen, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa
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