Pat Cummins ruled out, Steve Smith misses selection

Dwarshuis has performed strongly with the ball at franchise level and adds hitting power to the lower order, but he is inexperienced at international level with only 19 appearances for Australia in the two white-ball formats.

“With Pat needing more time to recover from his back injury Ben is a ready replacement who offers a left-arm pace option as well as dynamic fielding and late-order hitting,” selector Tony Dodemaide said.

“We believe his ability to swing the ball at good pace along with clever variations will be well suited to the conditions we expect and overall structure of the squad.”

Selectors did not hand Smith an 11th hour recall despite his stunning success at the top of the order for the Sixers after the Ashes.

Smith’s hitting power propelled the Sixers to the BBL final, but Australia are well stocked at the top of the order with captain Mitch Marsh and Travis Head occupying the two opening berths.

Loading

Not even Short’s axing could clear an immediate passage back into the squad for Smith, who quit the 50-over format to give him more time to play in T20 leagues around the world in his quest for a spot at the 2028 Olympics.

“Steve is an exceptional player who has worked very hard on his short form game and was rewarded with a great stint in the Big Bash batting at the top for the Sixers,” Dodemaide said.

“The current T20 top order has been very successful building into this tournament so we feel we’re well-placed in that area.

“If a replacement is required Steve is very much in contention and this has been communicated with him.”

Short was below his best in the BBL, averaging 28 with a strike rate of 132.7, which left his spot vulnerable. Renshaw’s versatility and hot form for Brisbane Heat, which earned him selection in the team of the tournament, won him the nod.

“Matt [Renshaw] has impressed in all formats of late, including in multiple roles in white-ball formats for Australia, the Queensland Bulls and the Brisbane Heat,” Dodemaide said.

“With the top order settled and spin heavy conditions expected in the pool stages in Sri Lanka, we also feel Matt provides extra middle order support, with Tim David completing his return to play program in the early phase of the tournament.

“As a left-hander, he [Renshaw] also offers a point of difference to the middle-order batting.”

Pakistan seal series after Australia fail trial by spin

Pakistan grabbed an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match Twenty20 series against Australia after skipper Salman Agha led by example to secure their comprehensive 90-run victory in the second match in Lahore on Saturday.

Electing to bat, Pakistan amassed 198-5 after Salman (76) and Usman Khan (53) produced breezy half-centuries.

The hosts then unleashed five spinners, who strangled the Australian batters, eventually bowling them out for 108 inside 16 overs.

Australia arrived without several frontline players, but losing all 10 wickets to the spinners will be a reality check for them ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup to be played in similar conditions in India and Sri Lanka.

Earlier, Matthew Kuhnemann dismissed Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan in the second over but Salman and Saim Ayub (23) steadied the innings.

Babar Azam’s lean run continued when he fell to Adam Zampa for the second time in the series but Usman combined with Salman to prevent any batting collapse.

Shadab Khan contributed an unbeaten 28 down the order to take Pakistan close to the 200 mark.

Australia wobbled early in their reply, slumping to 29-3 in the fifth over after losing skipper Mitchell Marsh, fellow opener Travis Head and the dangerous Josh Inglis in quick succession.

Matt Renshaw, included in Australia’s T20 World Cup squad earlier on Saturday, managed two as the tourists laboured to 71-5 at the halfway stage of their innings.

Matt Short, who was dropped from the World Cup squad to accommodate Renshaw, made a defiant 27.

With Reuters