Australia have benched Nathan Lyon, while Jason Behrendorff misses out with a sore back for the final match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Adam Zampa and Billy Stanlake have been named as the replacements in the playing XI.
Melbourne Renegades paceman Kane Richardson has also been called into the squad as cover.
Lyon has been dropped from the side after he failed to pick up many wickets in the first two matches. In the first ODI, he went for 59 runs while in the second game, he went for 50 runs. Zampa’s last ODI came against South Africa in Hobart in 2017.
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His exclusion comes despite captain Aaron Finch backing him to be part of their plans for the World Cup.
“I thought the way Gaz (Lyon) has bowled has been really impressive,” Finch told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday, adding that he was being asked to play a more containing role and was therefore bowling flatter and more defensively.
“(He has) bowled really well quite defensively, which I think for his role was pretty important,” Finch said.
“Anytime the ball’s been tossed up … he’s bowling against some pretty world-class (batsmen) … some all-timers, really,” he added.
Australia XI: Aaron Finch, Alex Carey, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Peter Siddle, Adam Zampa, Billy Stanlake
First Published: Jan 17, 2019 11:29 IST
Source: HindustanTimes