World Cup planning begins with T20 campaigns

In a little more than 12 months' time, Australia will officially begin their campaign to claim the one global trophy that still eludes them: the T20 World Cup.

Australia host the men's and women's T20 World Cups next year, and while the women are runaway favourites to defend their title and claim a fifth crown in March, the men have never won it, and only once – in 2010 – progressed to the final.

Justin Langer and Trevor Hohns will sit down this week to pick a squad with the twin objectives of winning the coming Gillette T20 Internationals against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, and laying a platform for next year's World Cup.

Cricket Australia is in the process of recruiting a new selector to fill the void left by the retirement of Greg Chappell, and while several names have been mentioned in dispatches, that position won't be filled in time to influence the squad for the two upcoming three-game series.

A sizeable portion of the 50-over World Cup squad that took Australia to the semi-finals of the tournament in England earlier this year can expect to have their names called, but with extra focus on the shortest format, it also offers Australia an opportunity to refresh.

Australia captain Aaron Finch is fresh from an unbeaten 188 in Victoria's Marsh One-Day Cup win over Queensland, belting 14 sixes en route to 188 not out from 151 balls – his highest career List A total and the biggest score ever at the Junction Oval.

Wicketkeeper Alex Carey has established himself as Australia's first-choice gloveman in limited overs formats, and may again share the vice captaincy with talismanic fast bowler Pat Cummins.

Cummins comes into the Australian summer off the back of an extraordinary workload having played every World Cup and Ashes Test match, and is expected to play the T20 internationals before returning to Sheffield Shield action.

Fellow Ashes quick Mitchell Starc, who played just one of the five Tests, will begin his home summer in this week's Marsh Sheffield Shield alongside batters Steve Smith and David Warner before they turn their attentions to the T20s.

With Finch and Warner available it gives Australia an interesting top-order conundrum. The big-hitting D'Arcy Short showcased his skills with a recent Marsh Cup century against NSW, while Chris Lynn has become a T20 specialist.

Lynn hasn't played a competitive fixture since August's Canada T20 league and selectors may still harbour concerns about his ability to field given his history of shoulder complaints.

Usman Khawaja – who hasn't played a T20 international since mid-2016 – is another in contention in a top-order logjam. He performed well in the 50-over World Cup and smashed back-to-back centuries for Queensland in his two Marsh Cup games in Melbourne last week.

No such fielding worries for Glenn Maxwell who remains an 'x-factor' in T20 cricket and smashed an unbeaten 113 in the nation's last T20 – against India way back in late February.

Peter Handscomb also impressed on that tour and the Victorian was the last man out of the World Cup squad, squeezed out by Smith's return before being whisked in for the semi-final after Khawaja got injured, but has had a slow start to the domestic summer with a high score of 13 in the Marsh Cup.

Off-season shoulder surgery to fix a long-standing issue saw Ashton Turner return to form with Western Australia in the Marsh Cup, but the explosive batter has since been sidelined due to a finger injury.

Fellow West Australians Marcus Stoinis – who opened the batting ahead of Finch in Australia's last T20 – could be set to jockey for position with Mitchell Marsh. Stoinis underwhelmed in the 50-over World Cup as he battled injury issues but started the Marsh Cup well with a stunning century in his first knock.

Marsh was dropped form Australia's most recent T20 squad – the side that played in India in March – as was fast bowler Billy Stanlake but the towering Queenslander could find himself back in contention in home conditions, particularly given the recurrence of a back injury for Jason Behrendorff.

With Cummins and Starc set to lead the attack, the identity of the third seamer is much less clear. Nathan Coulter-Nile could lay a claim and adds prowess in the field and with the bat while Andrew Tye has show impressive early form to be the leading wicket-taker in the Marsh Cup so far, and has the record for the most T20 wickets in a calendar year , taking 31 in 19 matches in 2018.

There could also be a battle between South Australian Kane Richardson and the returning Jhye Richardson who continues to improve after his dislocated shoulder earlier this year.

In the spin-bowling department, selectors will have difficult choices to make. Adam Zampa has held the position for some time but was overlooked for Nathan Lyon in the latter stages of the 50-over World Cup.

Ashton Agar remains an option for the shortest format, while off-spinner Chris Green has impressed on foreign shores with the 26-year old delivering solid returns having played in Australia, the UAE, Pakistan, England, Canada and the Caribbean already in 2019.