Pacer Mahli Beardman has been named to Australia’s team in advance of the five-match ODI series against England. The Western Australian pacer, 19, was called up for the first time to the senior team.
After a string of injuries that have kept Australia’s fast-bowling resources out of action, Beardman has been introduced as a cover. While Nathan Ellis was forced to withdraw from the Scotland part of the trip due to exacerbation of an injury sustained during The Hundred Men’s Competition 2024, Xavier Bartlett sustained a side strain during the first Twenty20 International match against England in Southampton.
Riley Meredith was ruled out after the first Twenty20 International in Scotland, and Spencer Johnson was declared out prior to the tour commencing. They are both recovering from minor issues. Josh Hazlewood, meanwhile, was questionable for the Twenty20 International series due to a delayed arrival in the UK due to a slight calf strain. He did, however, contribute significantly to Australia’s victory in Southampton before getting a rest for the second match in Cardiff.
In the weeks leading up to the five-match Test series against India that begins in November, Australia’s head coach Andrew McDonald disclosed to SEN that they will be keeping an eye on the health of the trio of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Josh Hazlewood—the trinity of fast bowling.
“We will base a lot of our priorities on that. You will witness that transpire with our athletes’ management. Coming into the summer, we’ll be very specific about who plays what in [Sheffield] Shield cricket to make sure they’re prepared for that first Test match,” McDonald stated.
Who is Mahli Beardman?
Beardman is six feet two inches tall. Earlier in the year, he had an outstanding Under-19 World Cup, taking home the Player of the Match title after tallying statistics of 3 for 15 in Australia’s triumph over India in the Benoni final. He took ten wickets at a respectable average of 10.50 in six games.
As part of Cricket Australia’s Under-19 induction program, Beardman and Cooper Connolly, who were members of the T20I squad, have spent the last two summers in Perth on the Australian bench.
Connolly and Ben Dwarshuis, who was brought in as cover for the rest of the tour, will stay in the UK with the ODI team.
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Glenn Maxwell, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, and Starc will all be added to Australia’s ODI team.
Australia ODI squad vs England: Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey (wk), Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Cameron Green, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis (wk), Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa | Traveling reserve: Mahli Beardman
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