MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Mitch Marsh will captain Australia at the Twenty20 World Cup next month, leading a national cricket squad that is missing ex-skipper Steve Smith and up-and-coming batter Jake Fraser-McGurk.
Marsh, who is recovering from an injured hamstring, was confirmed as T20 captain on Wednesday after sharing the duties on an interim basis since the retirement last year of Aaron Finch.
Smith’s omission for the tournament starting June 1 in the United States and Caribbean means it’ll be the first time since 2012 he’s missed a World Cup in the limited-overs formats.
The 34-year-old Smith has signed for the Washington Freedom for the second season of Major League Cricket in the United States which starts July 4, four days after the T20 World Cup concludes.
Fraser-McGurk surged into selection calculations on the back of his 233.33 strike rate in the Indian Premier League, but it wasn't enough to replace Travis Head or the veteran David Warner at the global tournament.
Allrounder Marsh will likely bat at No. 3 and Glenn Maxwell at No. 4 in the lineup, with Tim David likely to fill the finisher role further down the order.
“The batting options available allow a tailored approach to each venue and opponent,” Australia's chief selector George Bailey said. "Steve Smith, Matt Short, Jason Behrendorff, Aaron Hardie, Spencer Johnson and Xavier Bartlett were all part of long conversations, along with several others, including Jake Fraser-McGurk who is yet to play T20 International cricket but continues to impress and is developing rapidly.”
Bailey said Fraser-McGurk's form had been “great of late.”
“But the way we’re functioning at the top of the order with the three guys we’ve had there has been really strong as well," he said. "Ultimately, in that squad of 15, we’re looking to get that balance we want in for each game with different opponents, different venues and different surfaces.”
Matt Wade and Josh Inglis were picked as wicketkeepers and Ashton Agar returns to the squad as a second spinning option to Adam Zampa.
The regular pace bowling trio of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood will have support from Nathan Ellis as well as allrounders Cameron Green, Marsh and Marcus Stoinis.
Australia, the 2021 T20 World Cup champions, will open against Oman at Barbados on June 5. The Australians are the defending champions in the ICC's World Test Championship and in the 50-over World Cup.
Australia squad: Mitch Marsh (captain), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matt Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
Delhi Capitals' Jake Fraser-McGurk bats during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians in New Delhi, India, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Surjeet Yadav)
France, Belgium and Slovenia released statements supporting the world’s top war crimes court and its chief prosecutor's request for arrest warrants for leaders of Israel and Hamas, after Israel and the United States both harshly condemned the effort.
The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders — Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh — of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel. While Netanyahu and Gallant do not face imminent arrest, the announcement Monday was a symbolic blow that deepened Israel’s isolation over the war in Gaza.
Israeli forces raided a militant stronghold Tuesday in the occupied West Bank, killing at least seven and wounding several, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The raid into Jenin is part of months of surging violence in the Palestinian territory.
Israel launched its offensive after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed about 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250.
At least 35,000 Palestinians have died in the war, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians. Around 80% of the population of 2.3 million Palestinians has been displaced within the territory, often multiple times.
Currently:
— Israel tries to contain the fallout after some allies support ICC prosecutor’s request for warrants.
— Mourners begin days of funerals for Iran’s president and others killed in helicopter crash.
— These photos show Palestinians’ quick exodus from Rafah after Israel issued evacuation orders.
— Israeli forces kill at least seven Palestinians in a West Bank raid.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Gaza at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Here's the latest:
BERLIN — The German government on Tuesday expressed its condolences for the death of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.
German Chancellor Scholz said in a letter of condolence to Iran’s vice president that “we have received the news of the helicopter crash and the death of President Raisi.”
“Our condolences go out to the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the families of those killed in the crash,” Scholz added.
JERUSALEM — Israel’s defense minister on Tuesday slammed the international court prosecutor's request for arrest warrants against himself and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as Hamas leaders.
Yoav Gallant said prosecutor Karim Khan created a parallel between the militant group and Israel, calling that “despicable and disgusting.” He noted that Israel is not party to the International Criminal Court and does not recognize its authority, and stressed that Israel has a right to defend itself.
“Prosecutor Karim Khan’s attempt to deny the state of Israel the right to defend herself and ensure the release of the hostages held in Gaza, must be rejected explicitly,” he said.
Khan accused Netanyahu, Gallant, and three Hamas leaders — Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh — of warcrimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel. While Netanyahu and Gallant do not face imminent arrest, the announcement Monday was a symbolic blow that deepened Israel’s isolation over the war in Gaza.
JERUSALEM — Israeli forces raided a militant stronghold Tuesday in the occupied West Bank, killing at least seven and wounding several, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The Israeli military said it struck militants during an operation into the city. In addition to the seven fatalities, the Palestinian Health Ministry said nine people were injured. Among those killed was Dr. Ossayed Kamal Jabareen, the surgery specialist at Jenin Governmental Hospital who was killed on his way to his work, according to Dr. Wissam Abu Baker, the hospital’s director.
The raid was ongoing and the casualty numbers could rise.
The raid into Jenin is part of months of surging violence in the Palestinian territory. Nearly 500 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza, part of an Israeli crackdown on militancy in the territory. Attacks by Palestinians against Israelis have also increased.
Saraya al-Quds, the military arm of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, said its fighters battled Israeli forces raiding Jenin.
Israel has arrested more than 3,000 Palestinians since the start of the war.
France and Belgium each released statements supporting the world’s top war crimes court and its chief prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants for leaders of Israel and Hamas.
International Criminal Court top prosecutor Karim Khan accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders — Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh — of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel. While Netanyahu and Gallant do not face imminent arrest, the announcement Monday was a symbolic blow that deepened Israel’s isolation over the war in Gaza.
“France supports the International Criminal Court, its independence, and the fight against impunity in all situations,” its Foreign Ministry said in a statement late Monday, around the same time Belgium Minister of Foreign Affairs Hadja Lahbib posted on X, “Crimes committed in Gaza must be prosecuted at the highest level, regardless of the perpetrators," along with a statement.
Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders condemned the move as disgraceful and antisemitic. United States President Joe Biden also lambasted the prosecutor and supported Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas.
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The Sri Lankan government declared Tuesday a national mourning day for the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. The government also ordered all state institutions to hoist the national flag at half-staff.
Raisi visited Sri Lanka in April to inaugurate a long-delayed hydropower and irrigation project. The project, valued at $514 million, was started in 2010. It was scheduled for completion in 2015 but was delayed by the sanctions, technical issues and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Raisi was the first Iranian leader to visit Sri Lanka since then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited in 2008.
Palestinians look at the body of Amir Abu Amireh, who was killed in an Israeli military raid on the West Bank Jenin refugee camp, at a morgue in the city of Jenin, Tuesday, May 21, 2024. Israeli forces raided a militant stronghold Tuesday in the occupied West Bank, killing at least seven and wounding several, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The raid into Jenin refugee camp is part of months of surging violence in the Palestinian territory. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
A man lays flowers near a photo of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his colleagues at a makeshift memorial at the Iranian Embassy in Moscow, Russia, Monday, May 20, 2024. Raisi, a hard-line protege of the country's supreme leader who helped oversee the mass executions of thousands in 1988 and later led the country as it enriched uranium near weapons-grade levels, launched a major attack on Israel and experienced mass protests, has died Sunday, May 19. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Palestinians are waiting for aid trucks to cross in central Gaza Strip on Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
People protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, outside the Knesset, Israel's parliament in Jerusalem on Monday, May 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh speaks during a press briefing after his meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said Monday he is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in connection with their actions during the seven-month war between Israel and Hamas. Haniyeh is one of the three Hamas leaders believed to be responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant pauses while making a brief statement to the media with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, not pictured, at The Kirya, Israel's Ministry of Defense, Monday, Oct. 16, 2023, in Tel Aviv. The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said Monday, May 20, 2024, he is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in connection with their actions during the seven-month war between Israel and Hamas. Netanyahu, his defense minister Gallant, and three Hamas leaders, are believed to be responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool, File)
FILE - Exterior view of the International Criminal Court, or ICC, in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor said Monday, May 20, 2024, that he’s seeking arrest warrants for both Israeli and Hamas leaders in connection with their actions during the seven-month war. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)
