Pattinson, Warner recalled to ODI squad
James Pattinson will audition for the upcoming Test tour of South Africa in the one-day series against England, having been named for his international return from injury. Pattinson is part of a 14-man squad named for the five-match contest and David Warner has also been recalled after being dropped from the one-day team earlier in the year.
Michael Clarke will captain the team after missing the one-day tour of India due to injury and Shaun Marsh is also back having missed that tour with a hamstring problem, while Phillip Hughes, Adam Voges, Moises Henriques and Callum Ferguson have been dropped. There was also no room for Cameron White, the Player of the Series in the Ryobi Cup, with the selectors having declined to rest any of the senior batsmen.
Pattinson has not played an ODI since September 2012 and his last international of any kind was the Lord's Test in July, after which his tour ended with a stress fracture of the back. Pattinson has returned in the BBL for the Melbourne Renegades and will use the one-day series as a chance to push for a place on the Test tour of South Africa in early February.
Warner had been axed from the one-day side following the Ashes in England but his form in the Test team this summer meant his recall was all but a formality. Marsh played in the one-day internationals in England after the Ashes and the selectors view him as a man who could play an important role in the World Cup next summer.
Voges and Hughes were particularly unlucky to miss out after both men had strong years in the ODI side. Hughes was Australia's third-leading one-day run scorer in 2013, with 660 at 36.66, and he is particularly effective in home conditions - he scored two centuries in the five-match one-day series against Sri Lanka in January. Voges was fifth on Australia's run list in 2013 with 478 runs at 47.80.
"We believe this is a well-balanced squad that can build on the promising form displayed in our most recent limited overs series against England and India," the national selector John Inverarity said. "David Warner has won back his place in the Australia ODI squad with his outstanding recent form, not least in the domestic Ryobi Cup competition that was held in September and October in Sydney.
"Michael Clarke, Shaun Marsh and James Pattinson have been included after being unavailable through injury for the series against India in October. Phillip Hughes, Adam Voges, Moises Henriques and Callum Ferguson are unlucky to lose their places from the India ODI squad as they have all been in good form.
"Adam Voges is particularly unlucky as his ODI performances over the past year have been very good. There are three outstanding players in Clarke, Warner and Marsh coming back and we believe their inclusion provides the squad with several batting options.
"Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh are exciting prospects at the top of the order with the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup only 14 months away. Michael Clarke and Darren Lehmann will be looking for consistent performances from these players and the other batsmen who have the potential to impose themselves strongly on matches.
"James Pattinson has worked hard to get back to full fitness and will be looking to regain his best form. His performances will provide a guide to the National Selection Panel when it selects the team for the Test tour to South Africa in February and March."
Australia's home ODI summer was trimmed to five matches this season, all against England, with the first to be played at the MCG on January 12. Matches in Brisbane, Sydney, Perth and Adelaide follow before the three-match Twenty20 series starts in Hobart on January 29.
Australia ODI squad David Warner, Aaron Finch, Shane Watson, Shaun Marsh, Michael Clarke (capt), George Bailey (vice-capt), Brad Haddin (wk), Glenn Maxwell, James Faulkner, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Pattinson, Clint McKay, Xavier Doherty.
