Watch: Starc and Josh Philippe star in Australia's intrasquad match ahead of the West Indies series

The Australian team has begun their preparations for the upcoming white-ball series against the West Indies. The touring group recently played an intense simulation game under the supervision of head coach Justin Langer.

Three half-centuries from top-order players as the race for selection in the opening T20 heats up! #WIvAUS https://t.co/pE5svAJfHi

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) July 8, 2021

Aaron Finch and Moises Henriques led their respective teams in this intra-squad match. Both sides batted one innings of 20 overs each. The batsmen had ample practice and were the star performers on the day. The teams were lined up as:

Australia I: Aaron Finch (c), Matthew Wade (wk), Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey, Ashton Turner, Mitchell Swepson, Nathan Ellis, Jason Behrendorff, Wes Agar, Josh Hazlewood

Australia II: Josh Philippe (wk), Ashton Agar, Moises Henriques (c), Ben McDermott, Dan Christian, Andrew Tye, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Riley Meredith, Tanveer Sangha

Aaron Finch's side batted first in the contest and scored a total of 165/6 in 20 overs. Mathew Wade (52) and all-rounder Mitchell Marsh (31) were the top scorers for the side. After going wicketless in the first intra-squad match of the tour, Mitchell Starc found some form in this game. The left-arm quick ended with figures of 4-0-30-3. Adam Zampa (1/25) complemented his efforts by bowling an economical spell.

In reply, the Australia II side, led by Henriques, chased down the target easily with fifteen balls to spare. They finished with 166/2 courtesy of attacking knocks from Josh Philippe (67) and Moises Henriques (51*). The Sidney Sixers duo strengthened their case for a place in the middle order by playing authoritative knocks in the chase.

Catch the highlights below:

Plus all the highlights from St Lucia here #WIvAUS https://t.co/Nn0xpJYWv3

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) July 8, 2021

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Australia will play their first match of the West Indies tour on July 9th

Aaron Finch's side will begin their Caribbean tour with a five-match T20I series followed by a three-match ODI series. The T20Is will be played at the Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet, St Lucia. The ODI series will take place at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados.

Several Australian players, including Alex Carey, Ben McDermott, Moises Henriques, Dan Christian and Mitchell Swepson, will want to perform well in this series. If they can conjure up a couple of good displays, it might put them in the running to represent Australia at the upcoming T20 World Cup.