Aussies name strong squad to meet Zimbabwe, NZ

Australia will return to one-day cricket on home soil with a near full strength squad for the August-September season-opening ODI series in Far North Queensland against Zimbabwe and New Zealand.

Test captain Pat Cummins has been rested for the six matches, split evenly across Townsville (Zimbabwe) and Cairns (NZ), while batter Travis Head will be absent with his partner Jess Davies due to give birth to the couple's first child.

Adam Zampa, who missed the tour of Sri Lanka for the arrival of his first child, Eugene, returns to the squad while Sean Abbott also comes back into the squad having recovered from the fractured finger he suffered in the nets at the start of the Sri Lanka tour.

Ashton Agar has also been named and will have recovered from a side strain that curtailed his involvement in the Sri Lanka tour.

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Australia ODI squad: Aaron Finch, Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa

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Cummins is "being managed through a period of rehabilitation and physical preparation for the upcoming summer" and the fast bowler is recovering from minor hip and ankle niggles ahead of a huge summer featuring Tests against West Indies and South Africa at home before a landmark tour of India in February-March.

Spinners Mitch Swepson and Matthew Kuhnemann, back-up keeper Josh Inglis and pace bowler Jhye Richardson have been left out from the Sri Lanka touring party, while Kane Richardson, who injured his hamstring in Melbourne on the eve of the Pakistan tour in late March but is now fully fit again, has not been included but is expected to feature in the the T20 series that follow these ODIs.

"These series against New Zealand, the world's No.1 ranked ODI side, and Zimbabwe will be good contests and provide an opportunity to play some great cricket in the lead-up to the home summer," said national selector George Bailey in a statement.

"The team is excited to be marking the start of a huge summer with these matches in North Queensland."

Australia will play a three-game Dettol ODI Series against Zimbabwe in Townsville starting on August 28, and will then meet New Zealand in Cairns for three fixtures from September 6.

They will be Australia's first one-day matches on home soil since early December 2020, and form part of the ODI Super League that determines qualification for next year's 50-over World Cup in India. 

Australia currently sit eighth on the ICC's Super League standings with 70 points from 12 matches. That could swell to 100 points if the ICC approves the agreement between Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa to award the points for the Proteas cancelled January ODI series. 

Australia will also play three ODIs against England in November, however those are not part of the Super League.

It will be the first time a senior Australia men's side has played in Townsville, and the first time they have played in Cairns since 2004.

The Zimbabwe series was initially to have been played in mid-2020, and was then rescheduled to last year, however the global pandemic put paid to both those attempts.

All three matches will be played at Townsville's Riverway Stadium, with a special tribute to the late Andrew Symonds to be part of the series.

The three-game Dettol ODI Series against New Zealand that immediately follows at Cazaly's Stadium is also a rescheduling of matches postponed amid COVID-19 travel restrictions last January.

New Zealand's quarantine requirements and border controls forced a planned series last January to be postponed, making the 2021-22 summer the first in 44 years that there were no home men's ODI matches.

Since Australia beat India 2-1 in a home series in December 2020, they have won 2-1 away to the West Indies in mid-2021 but lost back-to-back series on the subcontinent, 2-1 in Pakistan and 3-2 against Sri Lanka.

The squad announcement comes as tickets for the international summer go on sale to Australian Cricket Family members, ahead of a general public release later this week. You can join the ACF here.

Men's Dettol ODI Series v Zimbabwe

Sunday Aug 28: Riverway Stadium, Townsville, 9:40am

Wednesday Aug 31: Riverway Stadium, Townsville, 9:40am

Saturday Sep 3: Riverway Stadium, Townsville, 9:40am

Men's Dettol ODI Series v New Zealand

Tuesday, Sep 6: Cazaly Stadium, Cairns, 2:20pm

Thursday, Sep 8: Cazaly Stadium, Cairns, 2:20pm

Sunday Sep 11: Cazaly Stadium, Cairns, 2:20pm