World Cup winning former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has called for Big Bash final hero Mitch Owen to be parachuted into Australia’s Champions Trophy squad as a replacement for injured all-rounder Mitch Marsh, while Pat Cummins is considered “highly unlikely”.
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While Aaron Hardie looms as a sound like-for-like replacement in the best Australian team for the ODI tournament that begins in Pakistan later this month, Ponting says Owen could take the spot in the 15-player squad left open by Marsh’s withdrawal.
Owen, 23, blasted on to the national radar with the equal-fastest Big Bash century of all time as he steered the Hobart Hurricanes to a famous home win over the Sydney Thunder.
It also earnt him a first international contract with Paarl Royal in the SA20 league, and he has already shown his bowling prowess, taking three wickets with his medium pace.
While former Australian opener David Warner said there were other players in front of Owen for a national call-up, former selector Mark Waugh said Owen’s name should be in discussions.
And now Ponting, who was the head of strategy for the Hurricanes as well as being a T20 coach in leagues around the world, said Owen was “suited” as a replacement for Marsh.
“I’m not sure which way they’ll go to be honest,” Ponting said on The ICC Review.
“I don’t know if you guys have been watching the BBL (Big Bash League), but we’ve had one young kid that’s just emerged out of nowhere, a kid called Mitch Owen, who has opened the batting for the Hobart Hurricanes.
“He’s also an all-rounder, probably more suited (as a replacement for Marsh).
“I mean, Mitch Marsh has batted in the top three in one-day cricket, mostly in the last couple of years anyway.
“Mitch Owen has opened the batting in T20 cricket and opened the batting for Tasmania in the (domestic ODI competition) Marsh Cup this season.
“Look, honestly, I’d be surprised if it is him, but I think the selectors now know that there is a really high-quality replacement there.”
Ponting said there were “holes” in the Australian middle order that needed to be filled “pretty quickly”.
Meanwhile, Steve Smith or Travis Head loom as potential captains for the series with Cummins set to miss the tournament due to an ankle issue.
“Pat Cummins hasn’t been able to resume any type of bowling so he’s heavily unlikely, so that would mean that we do need a captain,” coach Andrew McDonald told SEN.
“Steve Smith and Travis Head are the two that we’ve been having conversations with while we’ve been building out that Champions Trophy team along with Pat back home. They’ll be the two that we look at for that leadership post.
“They’re the two obvious ones. Steve has done a great job here in the Test match. He’s done some good work in One-Day International cricket across the journey as well. So it’s between those two.
“But as I said, Patty is hugely unlikely which is a bit of shame and we’ve also got Josh Hazlewood who is battling at the moment. So that medical information will land over the next couple of days and we’ll be able to shore that up and let everyone know the direction.”
Another all-rounder, Cameron Green, is nearing a return from back surgery that ruled him out of the home summer.
But selectors have said he’ll most likely return for Australia’s World Test Championship showdown with South Africa in June.
“I’m finally starting to see the end of the tunnel, happy to get running and batting and starting to feel more like a cricketer now,” Green said at the Australian Cricket Awards on Monday.
“It’s been a nice break, but I’m ready to get back into it now.”
Australia’s Champion Trophy squad: Pat Cummins (c), Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa.
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