Aaron Finch-led Australia squad reach Caribbean for white-ball series against West Indies

The Australian men's cricket team players have reached the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia for their upcoming white-ball series against the West Indies. According to cricket.com.au, the 20-member squad, including reserves Nathan Ellis and Tanveer Sangha, arrived at Saint Lucia airport on Monday afternoon on a charter flight from Brisbane, Australia. The players are expected to undergo an isolation period before resuming training later this week. Australia will play a five-match T20I series and three ODIs against the hosts, starting July 9. 

Australia to field fresh-faced side

Australia will likely field a fresh-faced side for the series as some of its key players are missing from the roster. Australian veterans such as David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, Pat Cummins, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis had pulled out from the tour citing various reasons. Meanwhile, emerging superstar Marnus Labuschagne will miss the series because he couldn't travel to the West Indies due to COVID-19 protocols as he is currently in England playing the T20 Blast. 

Aaron Finch, Australia's opening batsman, will captain the team again for the series, which will be the country's third overseas tour since the pandemic began. Following the conclusion of the series against the West Indies, the Australian squad may travel to Bangladesh. The itinerary for the Bangladesh tour, on the other hand, is yet to be finalised. The series serves as preparation for Australia's upcoming ICC T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to place in the UAE. 

The five T20Is between Australia and West Indies will take place at the Darren Sammy Stadium, while the ODI matches will be played at Kensington Oval, Barbados. 

Australia Squad: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Wes Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Dan Christian, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa. Travelling reserves: Nathan Ellils, Tanveer Sangha.

(Image Credit: cricket.com.au)