 | |||
| Personnel | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Captain | Jake Lehmann (most recent) | ||
| Coach | N/A | ||
| Team information | |||
| Colours | Yellow Green | ||
| Home ground | Allan Border Field | ||
| Capacity | 4,500 | ||
| Secondary home ground | Bellerive Oval | ||
| Secondary ground capacity | 19,500 | ||
| History | |||
| First-class debut | New Zealand in 2015 at Canberra | ||
| List A debut | New South Wales in 2015 atBankstown Oval, Sydney | ||
| JLT Cup wins | 0 | ||
| Official website | Cricket Australia | ||
| |||
Cricket Australia XI is a domesticcricket team that plays matches against international teams touring Australia.
Cricket Australia XI played in Australia'slimited-overs tournament from 2015–16 to 2017–18.[1] Before each tournament, a 14-man squad was selected from players with state contracts who had not been picked in their respective states' 14-manList A squads for that season's tournament. The aim was to develop their skills against top players. The addition of the Cricket Australia XI to the limited-overs cricket tournament expanded the competition to seven teams. The team made theirList A debut againstNew South Wales on 5 October 2015, losing by 279 runs. They scored their first win five days later againstTasmania, winning by 3 runs.
Cricket Australia XI, often with more experienced personnel, now playfirst-class andT20 matches against touring teams, rather than playing in the one-day competition.
Announcing the formation of the team in May 2015,Cricket Australia's team performance managerPat Howard said, "We know we've got the talent and we want to be able to expose these players to more high-pressure game time to help the states and to help the overall national cause."[2]
The team was selected from those young players who were not included in any of the six state squads for the2015–16 competition. Cricket Australia's national talent managerGreg Chappell said he was confident the side would be competitive against the state teams.[3]
Cricket Australia XI were overwhelmed in their first two matches of the2015–16 Matador Cup. In the first,New South Wales scored 3 for 338 then dismissed Cricket Australia XI for 59. Eight of the team were playing their first List A match.[4] In the second match,Victoria dismissed Cricket Australia XI for 79 and made 1 for 81 in 11.1 overs.[5] In their third match, Cricket Australia XI scored 7 for 241 and restrictedTasmania to 9 for 238, winning by three runs. Marcus Harris, who scored 84 from 94 balls, won theman of the match award.[6] They again lost heavily in their fourth match, whenWestern Australia made 5 for 347 and dismissed them for 101.[7] In their fifth match they replied toQueensland's 7 for 282 with 248 all out,Hilton Cartwright scoring 99 off 96 balls and winning the man of the match award.[8] In their sixth and final matchSouth Australia made 5 for 244 and dismissed Cricket Australia XI for 168.[9]
They finished at the bottom of the table. Their leading run-scorer, with 180 runs, was Hilton Cartwright, who also had the highest average, 45.00, and strike-rate, 87.80 runs per 100 balls.[10]Jack Wildermuth took the most wickets, six, and had the best bowling average, 38.00.Matt Dixon had the best figures, 3 for 40.[11]
Bosisto captained the side in five matches, Peirson in one.
Cricket Australia XI were more competitive in the2016–17 Matador Cup, especially in batting, although they lost all six matches. In the first match they made 5 for 274, Ryan Gibson scoring 106 and winning the man of the match award, before Queensland replied with 7 for 278.[12] In the next match they scored 9 for 236 and Tasmania replied with 2 for 239.[13] In the third match New South Wales made 6 for 328, and Cricket Australia XI fell only four runs short in reply with 6 for 324, Gibson top-scoring with 97.[14] The fourth match was more one-sided: Victoria dismissed Cricket Australia XI for 153 and made 6 for 154 in 21.4 overs.[15] In the fifth match South Australia hit a record score for List A cricket in Australia, 7 for 420, and in reply Cricket Australia XI reached 3 for 226 in the 29th over before being dismissed for 318.[16] In the rain-affected final match Cricket Australia XI scored 8 for 147 off their 15 overs, and Western Australia reached the target of 156 with eight balls to spare.[17]
The leading run-scorers were Gibson with 293 runs at an average of 48.83, and Will Bosisto with 251 at 41.83. Sam Harper had the highest run-rate, scoring his 94 runs at a rate of 136 per 100 balls.[18] The most successful bowler was Arjun Nair with 10 wickets at 24.50; he also had the best figures of 3 for 53.[19]
Bosisto captained the side in all six matches.
Cricket Australia XI played six matches, winning one, losing five, and finishing in last place.[20]
Cricket Australia XI played twofirst-class matches, a two-day practice match and oneList A match againstEngland as pre-test warm-up matches for the2017-18 Ashes series andlimited-overs tour.[21]
The squad for thetour matches, named in November 2017:[22]
| Name | Nat | Birth date | Batting style | Bowling style | State Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batsmen | |||||
| Jake Carder |  | (1995-12-11)11 December 1995 (age 29) | Left-handed | Right-armmedium | Western Australia |
| Ryan Gibson | | (1993-12-30)30 December 1993 (age 31) | Right-handed | Right-armmedium | New South Wales |
| Nick Larkin | | (1990-05-01)1 May 1990 (age 35) | Right-handed | Right-armmedium | New South Wales |
| Will Pucovski | | (1998-02-02)2 February 1998 (age 27) | Right-handed | Right-armoff-break | Victoria |
| All-rounders | |||||
| Simon Milenko | | (1988-11-24)24 November 1988 (age 36) | Right-handed | Right-armfast-medium | Tasmania |
| Jason Sangha | | (1998-09-08)8 September 1998 (age 27) | Right-handed | Right-armleg-break | New South Wales |
| Matt Short | | (1995-11-08)8 November 1995 (age 30) | Right-handed | Right-armoff-break | Victoria |
| Wicket-keepers | |||||
| Tim Paine | | (1984-12-08)8 December 1984 (age 40) | Right-handed | Right-armmedium | Tasmania |
| Harry Nielsen | | (1995-05-03)3 May 1995 (age 30) | Left-handed | Right-armoff-break | South Australia |
| Bowlers | |||||
| Jackson Coleman | | (1991-12-18)18 December 1991 (age 33) | Right-handed | Left-armmedium-fast | Victoria |
| Michael Cormack | | (1997-06-29)29 June 1997 (age 28) | Right-handed | Right-armoff-break | South Australia |
| Daniel Fallins | | (1996-08-12)12 August 1996 (age 29) | Right-handed | Right-armleg-break | New South Wales |
| Gurinder Sandhu | | (1993-06-14)14 June 1993 (age 32) | Right-handed | Right-armfast-medium | New South Wales |
Tim Paine captained the team for the first game before being called into Tasmania'sSheffield Shield squad and missing the second.Matthew Short was named captain for the second game, whilstHarry Nielsen replaced Paine in the squad.[23]
v | ||
15–18 November 2017 Scorecard |
v | ||
9–10 December 2017 Scorecard |
v | ||
Teams under similar names often play matches against visitingTest teams. ACricket Australia Chairman's XI played elevennon-first-class matches between 2003 and 2013.[26] ACricket Australia Invitation XI played a first-class match in 2013–14.[27] Apart from their List A competition matches,Cricket Australia XI teams have also played three first-class and several other matches since 2014–15.[28]
