Australia debutant Mahli Beardman is set to make his one-day international debut on Friday in the first of three ODIs against England, with skipper Mitchell Marsh describing the 21-year-old as “an amazing talent”.
The fast bowler will play on his home ground at Perth Stadium, with Marsh confirming his selection to reporters.
“He’s an amazing talent, a ripping young kid,” Marsh said. “Looking forward to seeing him out on a fast and bouncy Perth Stadium wicket.
“For a young kid, he really understands his game early on (in his career). He loves to bowl fast, he’s always on record saying that all he wants to do is bowl fast, and that’s an attitude that you can’t always teach.”
Beardman made his T20 debut in January, taking 2-33 against Pakistan in Lahore. He then spent the next seven months recovering from a back stress injury.
Veterans rested as younger players step up
The series begins without veteran quicks Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, who are all sitting out. Their absence, ahead of home Tests against New Zealand, gives selectors the chance to introduce several fresh faces as they build towards the defence of their World Cup title next year.
The series also starts in the shadow of the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, which resurfaced this week.
The rest of the Australian side will be named at the toss. Xavier Bartlett is set to lead the attack alongside Beardman and left-arm seamer Spencer Johnson, with all-rounders Jack Edwards and Liam Scott as additional options.
Marsh and Travis Head headline the batting line-up, supported by Test players Cooper Connolly, Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, Matt Renshaw and Alex Carey.
England hit by injury blows
The hosts arrive with a run of three straight ODI series wins over England. The visitors have suffered a double setback before the first game, with batsman Jacob Bethell and paceman Josh Tongue both ruled out through injury and heading home.
England will again lean heavily on veteran Joe Root to anchor the batting, while Jofra Archer is expected to lead the attack.
Root said the focus lies on the period before the World Cup. “Our focus is all about what we do between now and that World Cup,” he said.
“We’re not the most finished article, we’re not an experienced team that’s been together for three or four years. So it’s really important we make the most of the opportunities that we have ahead of us, and we keep looking to learn and grow and develop to get ourselves in the best possible place leading into that tournament.”
After the one-day internationals, Australia and England will meet in five T20 matches.