By IANS,
Sydney : Australia Friday announced a 12-man squad for the two Twenty20 Internationals against England starting Wednesday with all-rounder Cameron White named captain after Michael Clarke decided to retire from T20.
The teams will play the first match at the Adelaide Oval and the second at the Melbourne Cricket Ground Jan 14.
“As you all know Michael has decided to retire from Twenty20 cricket. He did an outstanding job as leader of our team and took us to the final of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup.
“Cameron has been named as captain of the Twenty20 team and Tim Paine Vice captain. We are confident that they will provide outstanding leadership for what is a very exciting Twenty20 team,” said national selection panel Chairman Andrew Hilditch.
“The selection panel is taking the opportunity to look at some of our exciting young talent in this form of the game. Aaron Finch has been in outstanding form for Victoria and the NSP looks forward to watching him play at the highest level in this form of the game.
“James Pattinson is one of a crop of young fast bowlers with great potential and he impressed with his stint with the Australian side in India. We are sure he is ready for the challenge of international cricket.
The squad sees the return of fast bowlers Brett Lee and Shaun Tait. The team features only three cricketers from the Ashes Test side — Mitchell Johnson, Shane Watson and Steve Smith.
“Both at their best are explosive bowlers and should add greatly to the team,” said Hilditch.
The squad: Cameron White (captain), Tim Paine (vice-captain), Aaron Finch, David Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Stephen O’Keefe, James Pattinson, Steve Smith, Shaun Tait, David Warner, Shane Watson.