Queensland batter Ben McDermott has been called into Australia‘s ODI squad after Matthew Short was ruled out of the third match against West Indies in Canberra due to a low-grade hamstring injury. McDermott’s inclusion comes after his impressive performance in a Sheffield Shield match for Queensland, where he scored an unbeaten 146 against Tasmania.
Short sustained the injury during Australia’s series-clinching win at the SCG, where he contributed with the bat by scoring 41 runs but was unable to field after suffering the injury while batting. With Travis Head already sent home to rest after the first ODI, McDermott’s addition provides much-needed batting depth to the squad.
McDermott, who last played an ODI for Australia during the tour of Pakistan in March-April 2022, will join the Australia squad in Canberra on Monday. He had a notable performance in the recent T20I series in India, where he scored 54 off 36 balls in the final T20I in Bengaluru.
Australia will also be without the services of Josh Hazlewood in Canberra, as he is set to remain in Sydney before joining the T20I squad in Hobart ahead of the first T20I against West Indies. Spencer Johnson has been called into the squad as well, while Xavier Bartlett is expected to return to the side after being rested from the match in Sydney following his impressive debut in Melbourne.
The selectors are likely to consider adding another batter to the T20I squad, given Head’s absence from the entire series and Short’s uncertain availability due to his hamstring injury.
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