Melbourne [Australia], February 5 (ANI): Australian legend Ricky Ponting believes that the selectors should take a gamble and include a 23-year-old uncapped Big Bash League (BBL) star in the ICC Champions Trophy squad to replace injured all-rounder Mitchell Marsh.
Marsh, a key figure in the Australia limited-overs set-up, was ruled out of the upcoming event last month due to a back injury and national selectors have until February 12 to finalise his replacement and submit their final squad of 15 to the ICC.
Australia, who had included Marsh in their Champions Trophy preliminary line-up, have not named a replacement yet, but Ponting has thrown a left-field name into the mix in uncapped all-rounder Mitch Owen.
Owen dominated the recent T20 domestic Big Bash competition in Australia and Ponting thinks the 23-year-old can make the step up to international level quickly if given the chance.
“I am not sure which way they will go, to be honest,” Ponting said on The ICC Review.
“I do not know if you guys have been watching the BBL (Big Bash League), but we have had one young kid that’s just emerged out of nowhere, a kid called Mitch Owen, who has opened the batting for the Hobart Hurricanes.”
Owen was a relatively unknown figure at the start of the BBL season but led the run-scoring charts with 452 runs at a sensational strike rate of 203.60, including two centuries. One of the centuries was hit in the winning cause during the finals against Sydney Thunder, scoring 108 in just 42 balls, with six fours and 11 sixes to chase down 183 set by Sydney with 35 balls left.
He also managed to get three scalps with his medium pace and ended up winning a contract with Paarl Royals in the SA20 league.
“He is also an all-rounder, probably more suited (as a replacement for Marsh),” said Ponting.
“I mean, Mitch Marsh has batted in the top three in one-day cricket, mostly in the last couple of years anyway. Mitch Owen has opened the batting in T20 cricket and opened the batting for Tasmania in the (domestic ODI competition) Marsh Cup this season, which is our 50-over format.”
Ponting still believed it would be a big punt from Australian selectors, but said Owen could stand up to the challenge if given the nod.
“Look, honestly I would be surprised if it is him, but I think the selectors now know that there is a really high-quality replacement there,” Ponting said.
What might strengthen Owen’s case is that Cameron Green, who would have been the natural replacement for Marsh, has just started on his road to recovery.
Green last featured in a competitive game in September 2024 and missed out on the entire home season on account of a lower-back stress fracture.
Ponting did not seem convinced that the lanky all-rounder would find a place in the Australia set-up for the Champions Trophy.
“Cameron Green (is) just starting to come back from injury as well. I don’t think he, is going to be fully fit for that tournament either. So there are already a couple of holes in that Australian middle-order that need to be filled pretty quickly,” he concluded.
In the Champions Trophy starting from February 19 onwards, Australia’s campaign opener will be a high-profile clash with arch-rivals England at Lahore on February 22, followed by matches against South Africa and Afghanistan at Rawalpindi on February 25 and 28 respectively.
Australia preliminary squad for Champions Trophy: Pat Cummins (c), Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa (squad yet to be finalised). (ANI)
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