Zampa sidelined for Hobart T20 clash

Australia have made one change, dropping leg-spinner Adam Zampa for the extra batting of Travis Head, for their first Twenty20 meeting with England as the Gillette INTL tri-series moves to Hobart.

Australia captain David Warner won the toss and the home side will bowl first, with adopted local hero D'Arcy Short in the line-up and set to open the batting again with Aaron Finch still sidelined by a hamstring complaint.

Warner confirmed at the coin toss the Aussies were seeking the extra batting depth Head gave to the line-up against a strong England white-ball team that had bossed the 50-over series 4-1.

After a difficult start to the ODI series, Head has been in top form of late, with 96 in the Adelaide Oval ODI followed by unbeaten knocks of 85* and 44* in the KFC BBL elimination games to help the  Adelaide Strikers team he captains to a first title. He also picked up a wicket in each of those two matches with his spinners.

For Zampa, the axing comes as he was revealed as Essex's marquee signing for their T20 competition in the English summer. 

"We have done our homework and leg-spin makes a real difference in T20 cricket around the world, but you don't want to just bring in any leg-spinner. Adam is one of the best around at the moment and it is another outstanding signing for the club," Essex coach Anthony McGrath said.

Short admitted the step up from domestic cricket to the international stage was a big one after a whirlwind weekend that saw him make his international debut and collect the BBL Player of Tournament award after his Hobart Hurricanes lost the final.

A hamstring injury has kept top-order batsman Aaron Finch sidelined since he played in Australia's third ODI against England on January 21.

Darwin-born Short, who plays his state cricket for Western Australia, is a Hobart hero after the the 27-year-old enjoyed a stellar KFC BBL tournament.

But he scored just four on debut as Australia cantered to a seven-wicket win against New Zealand at the SCG on Saturday.

"I didn't know what to expect but I went in with an open mind," Short said on Tuesday.

"The energy and consistency of how well they bowled at the start was definitely a step up."

England came into the match with some players under injury clouds but Alex Hales (hand) and Jason Roy (back spasms) were cleared to feature at the top of the order while Liam Plunkett (hamstring) has missed out.

Fast bowler Chris Jordan has also come into the side after overcoming a hamstring niggle.

"We have guys who are pressing cases for different positions, they're good decisions to be making," England captain Eoin Morgan said.

A trump card for England could be left-handed allrounder David Willey, who smacked 79 from 36 and took three wickets in a practice match against the PM's XI.

Willey, who was promoted to open the innings in Canberra but drops back down to the middle order for the Hobart clash, hit five straight sixes in taking 34 runs off Test spinner Nathan Lyon's first over.

Australia XI: David Warner (c), D'Arcy Short, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Travis Head, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (wk), Ashton Agar, Andrew Tye, Kane Richardson, Billy Stanlake

England XI: Jason Roy, Alex Hales, David Willey, Dawid Malan, Eoin Morgan (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Sam Billings, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Chris Jordan, Tom Curran, Mark Wood

Gillette T20 trans-Tasman Tri-Series

Australia squad: David Warner (c), Aaron Finch (vc), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Travis Head, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, D'Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.

England squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, David Willey, Mark Wood.

New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (c), Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Tom Bruce, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Anaru Kitchen, Colin Munro, Seth Rance, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Ben Wheeler. 

First T20I Australia won by seven wickets. Scorecard

Second T20I Australia v England, Blundstone Arena, February 7. Tickets

Third T20I Australia v England, MCG, February 10. Tickets

Fourth T20I NZ v England, Wellington, February 14

Fifth T20I NZ v Australia, Eden Park, February 16

Sixth T20I NZ v England, Seddon Park, February 18

Final TBC, Eden Park, February 21