Australia vs Pakistan 2019: Alex Carey to lead Australia A against Pakistan

Wicket-keeper batsman Alex Carey will captain a strong Australia A side against Pakistan in the lead up to the 2-match Test series. Carey has been in stupendous form for Australia in the limited-overs format and has been duly rewarded with a call-up to the 'A' side.

The current Australia A side, one of the strongest to have been announced for quite some time, also includes the likes of Marcus Harris, Joe Burns, Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, and Will Pucovski.

Australian National Selector Trevor Hohns stated that the selection panel wanted all the Test hopefuls to build a case for themselves ahead of the series against Pakistan starting November 21.

Alex Carey to captain a strong squad that will battle for Baggy Green spots in Pakistan tour match | @Dave_Middleton https://t.co/60Dt86BC7n #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/YzOM6YCWCP

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) October 29, 2019

Carey has been in sensational form for Australia, but support for Tim Paine, who is the captain of the Test side, has prevented the 28-year-old from breaking into the team.

Hohns said:

Alex Carey has proven to be an exceptional leader in his role as vice-captain of the Australian men's One-Day International and Twenty20 International teams.

This fixture represents an opportunity to provide Alex with more leadership experience and he will be supported by two experienced vice-captains in Usman Khawaja and Travis Head. In terms of the batting line-up, we were eager to give Khawaja, Head and Marcus Harris another opportunity to push their respective cases for Test selection this summer given all three were part of our winter Ashes campaign.

Despite good performances in the ongoing Sheffield Shield, Shaun Marsh, Marcus Stoinis and Moises Henriques have been left out of the squad while Joe Burns has made the cut.

Youngster Will Pucovski and Nic Maddinson have also been named in the squad alongside Sean Abbott and Michael Neser after good outings in the domestic circuit.

Joe Burns was an unlucky omission for that tour to the UK and deserves a chance to push his case for Test selection in this tour match. Additionally, Will Pucovski and Nic Maddinson have started the season strongly for Victoria and we're looking forward to giving them an opportunity to perform against a quality international team. Both are exciting batsmen whom we've had our eye on for some time.

Hohns also explained why no spinner was taken into consideration while deciding the playing XI, which boasts of a four-man pace attack.

We've taken into account local conditions as well as individual requirements when selecting this Australia A XI. We have not selected a spinner because we felt they would receive limited opportunities in a three-day day-night fixture in Perth compared to a four-day Sheffield Shield match.

Australia A squad for the tour game

Alex Carey (Captain & Wicketkeeper), Marcus Harris, Joe Burns, Usman Khawaja, Will Pucovski, Travis Head, Nic Maddinson, Michael Neser, Sean Abbott, Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith.

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