Wade named; Marsh dropped for ODI squad

Victorian wicketkeeper Matthew Wade will make his One-Day International (ODI) debut against world champions India in Melbourne this Sunday following being named in the 14-man Australian squad.

Wade (pictured) will replace veteran Brad Haddin in the side with the selectors opting to rest the 34-year-old from the opening three-games in the Commonwealth Bank Triangular Series featuring India and Sri Lanka.

“We’ve got an open mind about that,” national selector John Inverarity said when asked whether Haddin may return later in the series at a media conference on Monday. “Brad has had a pretty gruelling time, being a wicketkeeper-batsman. He had the Test matches in Sri Lanka and South Africa, against New Zealand, against India, and Brad is due for a bit of a lighter load.”

Whilst Haddin has been rested fellow veterans Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey, David Hussey and paceman Brett Lee have all been included in the squad.

So too have youngsters Mitch Marsh and Peter Forrest but national selectors are fed up with the out of form Shaun Marsh who has been dropped and told to go back to state cricket and prove himself once again.

“Shaun as we’ve all seen is a very talented player,” said Inverarity. “At the moment he’s in a difficult period. We’ve all seen that. We think the best way that he can recover his form is out of the spotlight in Shield cricket. We look forward to him doing well in that and coming again.”

Joining the likes of Mitch Marsh and Forrest in the squad is the likes of all-rounder Dan Christian and Clint McKay as Inverarity said the aim is for the team to get ready for the 2015 World Cup to be held in Australia.

The bolter of that is field is Queenslander batsman Peter Forrest, 26 who is leading the Sheffield Shield this summer with 581 runs at an average of 58.10.

“With Peter Forrest, we’ve been looking and saying there will be some time in, say, the next three years when we’re going to be without Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey,” commented Inverarity. “So we’re looking to develop three or four or five young batsmen and invest some opportunity there. Peter Forrest has had a very good Sheffield Shield season thus far, I think it’s three centuries that he’s made. He’s certainly a player at the moment who we’re looking for all-round development.”

However two high profile players over the last few years in Steven Smith and Callum Ferguson have been left out of the squad due to poor recent form.

Injured stars Shane Watson, James Pattinson, Pat Cummings and Nathan Lyon were also not selected in the team to be captained by Michael Clarke with a vice-captain to be named later this week.

Australian 14-man ODI Squad:

Michael Clarke (captain)

Ricky Ponting

Michael Hussey

David Hussey

David Warner

Dan Christian

Peter Forrest

Mitchell Marsh

Matthew Wade

Brett Lee

Mitchell Starc

Ryan Harris

Clint McKay

Xavier Doherty