Langer era to begin at Brisbane camp

Australia’s top male players will convene under Justin Langer and Tim Paine for the first time this weekend at a pre-tour training camp in Brisbane.

The three-day camp at the Bupa National Cricket Centre will give new head coach Langer his first opportunity to address his players since the upheaval that occurred in the aftermath of the ball-tampering scandal, before Australia’s ODI and T20I squads depart for the United Kingdom on Monday.

It’s the first time the Australian playing group will come together since the controversial tour of South Africa, with the ODI and T20I squads to be joined by injured bowlers Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc. 

Cummins and Starc aren’t part of the white ball tours to the UK and Zimbabwe this winter as they recover from back and leg injuries respectively, but the senior players will no doubt relish the chance to bond with their Australian counterparts.

Also training with the limited-overs squads will be Test batsman Usman Khawaja, quicks Michael Neser and Chris Tremain and recent ODI and T20I representative Adam Zampa, who was left out of the squads for England and Zimbabwe in favour of Nathan Lyon (ODIs) and fellow leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson (T20s).

Khawaja is likely to be part of Australia’s next Test campaign, against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates in October, while he, Tremain, Neser and Zampa could all be in contention for the upcoming Australia A tour of India in August.

That tour will act as a batting audition for the Pakistan series with spots up for grabs in the absence of suspended trio Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, while it’s expected Australia’s bowling ranks may also need to be bolstered for the series as Starc and Cummins continue with their management plans.

Absent from the camp will be ODI squad members Travis Head and Shaun Marsh, who are both already in the UK playing county cricket, and D’Arcy Short, whose IPL franchise Rajastan Royals was knocked out of the playoffs on Wednesday evening.

Speaking to media in Adelaide on Wednesday, wicketkeeper Alex Carey – who has been appointed Australia’s T20I vice-captain under Aaron Finch – said he was looking forward to getting to know Langer.

"We will get together as a group and sit down and I'm sure we'll outline a few things," Carey said.

"Obviously go over what has happened the last couple of months and with the new squad we have got, start fresh and get stuck into the UK tour.

"I have had a brief chat with Justin Langer and am just really looking forward to getting to know him, on the more of a personal level, and learn about the way he wants us to go about our cricket.

"We have seen with Western Australia's success and the people they are, they are obviously very respectful and hard-working on the field, and once you get off, they're really good guys."

Australia’s contracted female players will also convene in Brisbane this weekend for the first time since their successful tour of India in March.

With no tours on the horizon for the national women’s team until their home three-match T20I series against New Zealand in late September, the camp is the first step in what looms as a crucial two years for the Southern Stars.

The T20Is against New Zealand will be followed by an away series against Pakistan in October, a World T20 campaign in the Caribbean in November, before a home summer containing WBBL|04, WNCL and an ODI series against the White Ferns in February.

Away series against the West Indies and an Ashes campaign in England will keep the squad busy through 2019, before a home World T20 in early 2020.

Australia ODI/T20 squad members at Brisbane camp: Tim Paine, Aaron Finch, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Nic Maddinson, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Andrew Tye, Jack Wildermuth

Squad members absent from Brisbane camp: Travis Head, Shaun Marsh (both in UK), D'Arcy Short (IPL)

Additional players at Brisbane camp: Pat Cummins, Michael Neser, Mitchell Starc, Chris Tremain, Adam Zampa

Women's camp: Nicole Bolton, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy, Jessica Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Meg Lanning, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani, Amanda-Jade Wellington  

Qantas Tour of England

June 7: Warm-up v Sussex, Hove (D/N)

June 9: Warm-up v Middlesex, Lord's

June 13: First ODI, The Oval (D/N)

June 16: Second ODI, Cardiff

June 19: Third ODI, Trent Bridge (D/N)

June 21: Fourth ODI, Durham (D/N)

June 24: Fifth ODI, Old Trafford

June 27: Only T20, Edgbaston (D/N)

Qantas T20I tri-series Tour of Zimbabwe

Sunday, July 1: Zimbabwe vs Pakistan

Monday, July 2: Pakistan vs Australia

Tuesday, July 3: Australia vs Zimbabwe

Wednesday, July 4: Zimbabwe vs Pakistan

Thursday, July 5: Pakistan vs Australia

Friday, July 6: Australia vs Zimbabwe

Sunday, July 8: Final