The chance of a home ground T20 appearance in the green and gold rather than teal looms for Brisbane Heat quicks Spencer Johnson and Xavier Bartlett after they were named today in the Australian squad for the series against Pakistan next month.
Heat Quicks Into Aussie Squad!
Bartlett is set to make his return shortly from a sidestrain suffered on Australia's tour of the UK and Scotland in September, while Johnson completed his comeback from a similiar injury when he played in the One Day Cup for South Australia against Queensland at Allan Border Field.
The Gabba will host a star-studded Pakistan in a T20 International on November 14, with Bartlett a contender to play for his country at the venue where he was a major success for the Heat in their championship run last season.
Pakistan, fresh from a home Test series win over England, have included Babar Azam, Shaheed Shah Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan and Naseem Shah in their white ball squad that will play ODIs and T20I Series against Australia next month.
Australian T20 squad:
Sean Abbott (Sydney Sixers/Parramatta District Cricket Club)
Xavier Bartlett (Brisbane Heat/Gold Coast District Cricket Club)
Cooper Connolly (Perth Scorchers/Scarborough Cricket Club)
Tim David (Hobart Hurricanes/Claremont-Nedlands Cricket Club)
Nathan Ellis (Hobart Hurricanes/Lindisfarne Cricket Club)
Jake Fraser-McGurk (Melbourne Renegades/West Torrens Cricket Club)
Aaron Hardie (Perth Scorchers/Willetton Cricket Club)
Josh Inglis (Perth Scorchers/Joondalup Cricket Club)
Spencer Johnson (Brisbane Heat/West Torrens Cricket Club)
Glenn Maxwell (Melbourne Stars/Fitzroy Doncaster Cricket Club)
Matthew Short (Adelaide Strikers/Northcote Cricket Club)
Marcus Stoinis (Melbourne Stars/Scarborough Cricket Club)
Adam Zampa (Melbourne Renegades/Sutherland Cricket Club)
Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis and Spencer Johnson return to the T20 setup following their returns from injury.
Some members of the Test squad will miss the Series in preparation for the first match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy against India in Perth. Any members of the T20 squad selected for the first Test will join the rest of the group following the final match in Hobart.
Chair of Selectors George Bailey said: “This group of players have all represented Australia in T20 cricket, so we look forward to them continuing to enhance their international experience throughout this series. We are excited by the mix of experience combined with those closer to the start of their international journeys.
“It is particularly encouraging to have Xavier, Spencer and Nathan back in the national setup. It’s another opportunity for them to continue to show their ability on the international stage, as they have done in the past.”