Jake Fraser-McGurk has been added to Australia’s squad for the final T20I against West Indies in Perth. While veteran Josh Hazlewood is released from the team to prepare for the upcoming New Zealand tour, Wes Agar joins the side to bolster the pace attack. Besides, ODI series hero Xavier Bartlett had previously been named on the team sheet for the last home game this summer.

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The attacking batter Fraser-McGurk, who impressed everyone during the recently concluded three-match ODIs, could make his T20I debut at the Optus Stadium. Seamer Xavier is also likely to find a place in the playing XI. 

Following his exploding start to international cricket, the youngster caught everyone’s attention with his see-the-ball-hit-the-ball approach, with his 18-ball 41 in Canberra making headlines. On the other hand, Xavier picked eight wickets (four each in two innings) in his first two outings in Australian colours, hogging all the limelight.

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Meanwhile, with the selectors likely to rest some of the first-team players for the Perth game and considering they have already clinched the series, Fraser could team up with Adelaide game’s hero Glenn Maxwell, launching warning signs for the Windies.

Maxwell smoked his fifth T20I hundred, equalling Rohit Sharma’s record, but later confessed the selectors wanted to rest him for the second T20I to manage his workload. Glenn said he talked to the selectors about wanting to play, adding his family had also planned to come and watch the match live.

“Originally, I was supposed to not be playing, I was going to be rested,” Maxwell said. 

“I sort of talked them into [it by going,] ‘Yeah, I wouldn’t mind playing this one; my family’s going to be here’, so they changed their mind, which was nice. I just thought, ‘Imagine if I was rested for this game, they made the effort to come over here’, but they had a Barossa tour yesterday, so they were pretty happy,” the joint record-holder Maxwell added.

Australia eyes capping off home season on high

After clean-sweeping Pakistan in the Test series earlier, Australia drew the two-match Tests against West Indies before clinching the ODIs 3-0. With a 2-0 lead in the T20I series, the home team will aim to wrap their home summer with a win in the final match in Perth and head to New Zealand with their heads held high. 

The third and final T20I against West Indies is scheduled in Perth on Tuesday (Feb 13). 

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