Hurricanes forecast for Australia A matches

Hobart Hurricanes dynamic duo Matthew Wade and D'Arcy Short are set to re-unite at the top of the order for Australia A's one-day campaign, starting in Northampton on Thursday.

The hard-hitting pair bulldozed bowling attacks in the KFC BBL last summer, finishing the tournament as the top two leading run-scorers and combining for an average of 58 runs per opening stand.

With Wade on deck at training Tuesday having arrived on Monday after the birth of his second child last week, the Hurricanes' enforcers shared a net against hostile pacemen Josh Hazlewood and Michael Neser.

Australia A captain Travis Head confirmed Wade and Short will open the batting on Thursday against Northamptonshire, the first of five 50-over matches on the tour which are followed by three four-day games.

"Those two can be very dangerous," Head said on the latest episode of The Unplayable Podcast.

"There could be some fiery starts and both boys won’t be holding back to get out there and showcase their power.

"They probably egg each other on as much as anything. It could be exciting to watch."

Following Wade and Short in the batting order will be a blend of the youth and experience.

Skipper Head, 2018 JLT Cup-winning captain Peter Handscomb, Test incumbent Kurtis Patterson, vice-captain Mitch Marsh and boom youngster Will Pucovski look set to battle it out for the remaining batting spots, and Wade likes what he sees.

"It's exciting the line-up we've got; we've got a fair bit of power in our batting line-up mixed with some guys that can bat deep like Pete (Handscomb) and Pucovski," Wade told cricket.com.au on Tuesday.

"The mixture of players we've got in that top order is certainly a nice combination.

"It means we're not reliant on one or two players."

While Wade will slot straight into the starting side he won't take the gloves to begin the tour.

A history of back issues caused from playing too soon after long-haul flights has seen him give up the gloves to Handscomb for the first two games in Northampton and Derby.

But almost as quickly as he gets the gloves back he will have no need for them in the four-day leg of the 'A' tour, with Test captain Tim Paine to keep wickets.

The chopping and changing with Handscomb and Paine is no problem for Wade, who is eyeing an Ashes spot in the flexible role of wicketkeeper-batter.

"It's something I'm pretty comfortable with," Wade said. "I played 50-50 in Shield cricket keeping and playing as a batter. It's probably where I'm going with my four-day cricket.

"If I'm lucky enough to get picked on the Ashes it'll be in that dual role if they're looking to take a spare batter-keeper, so that's the position I'm looking at anyway so I'm really comfortable with that.

"Pete (Handscomb) is pushing for more white-ball keeping stuff over the next 12 months. I know he played in the T20s as a keeper in India recently so he's probably on the other side of it (compared to Wade).

"My white-ball stuff I'll do with Tassie and the Hurricanes. My white-ball career for Australia is probably fading away quite quickly."

Australia A tour of the UK

Get live scores and all the latest news from Australia A's tour of the UK on cricket.com.au and the CA Live app

Australia A one-day squad: Travis Head (c), Matthew Wade, Will Pucovski, Peter Handscomb, Mitch Marsh (vc), D'Arcy Short, Kurtis Patterson, Ashton Agar, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Josh Hazlewood (vc), Sean Abbott, Andrew Tye

Australia A four-day squad: Tim Paine (c), Marcus Harris, Kurtis Patterson, Will Pucovski, Travis Head (vc), Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade, Mitch Marsh, Michael Neser, Jon Holland, James Pattinson, Jackson Bird, Josh Hazlewood (vc), Chris Tremain

One-day fixtures:

June 20: Australia A v Northamptonshire, The County Ground, Northamptonshire

June 23: Australia A v Derbyshire, County Ground, Derby

June 25: Australia A v Worcestershire, New Road, Worcester

June 30: Australia A v Gloucestershire, Bristol Country Ground, Bristol

July 2: Australia A v Gloucestershire, Bristol Country Ground, Bristol

Four-day fixtures:

July 7-10: Australia A v Sussex, Arundel Castle Cricket Ground, Arundel

July 13-16: Australia A v England Lions, The Spitfire Ground, Canterbury

July 23-26: Australia v Australia A, Ageas Bowl, Hampshire