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Renshaw and Sangha to captain Australia A against Sri Lanka A
Matt Renshaw looms as a potential middle-order candidate in Australia’s ODI rebuild after being elevated to the captaincy of the Australia A 50-over team, while Jason Sangha’s stocks continue to rise after being named the four-day skipper for the upcoming matches against Sri Lanka A in Darwin.
Australia A host Sri Lanka A in three 50-over matches, beginning on Friday at Marrara Oval, before the two teams play two four-day red-ball games starting on July 13 and July 20 to complete the series.
Despite perennial Australia A captain and South Australia Sheffield Shield-winning captain Nathan McSweeney being in the squad, Australia’s selectors opted to give leadership opportunities to Renshaw and Sangha for this series. Chairman of selectors George Bailey said the decision was in line with recent Australia A series where the selectors have used matches to give players opportunities that they might not get in domestic cricket.
“Selectors’ acknowledged Nathan McSweeney’s excellent leadership qualities, noting he’s a natural leader who’s demonstrated this skill with Australia A, South Australia, and the Prime Minister’s XI,” Bailey said. “The Australia A programme is often used to provide development opportunities for players who haven’t had as much leadership experience. Nathan will continue to provide leadership within the series through his experience and assistance to Matt and Jason.”
Renshaw, 29, has never captained Queensland and has only captained twice in 277 professional matches across all formats, leading Somerset in two matches in the Royal London Cup (one-day) competition in England in 2022. Sangha, 25, has quite a bit more captaincy experience by comparison, having led New South Wales in two Shield games and Sydney Thunder in six BBL games. He also led Australia at an Under-19s World Cup.
Renshaw has often been thought of as a red-ball specialist having already played 14 Tests for Australia, after debuting aged 20, without ever being considered to play limited overs cricket at international level. But his white-ball domestic record is exceptional, particularly in the very challenging position of No. 4. He has scored six List A centuries, two at No. 3 and four at No. 4, and averages 40.04 striking at 93.10 overall. At No. 4, his average improves to 45.07 and strike rate lifts to 97.50. In his last ten List A matches for Queensland, he is striking at 112.69, including scores of 102 off 68 against Victoria and 122 off 99 against Tasmania.
Australia are set to rebuild their ODI line-up over the next two years ahead of the 2027 World Cup following the retirements of Steven Smith and Glenn Maxwell. Renshaw’s 360-degree game against pace and spin, as well as providing another left-hand option, makes him a strong candidate to get an opportunity in the near future, with Australia’s squad for a three-match ODI series against South Africa in August to be announced soon.
Sangha gets the chance to build on his phenomenal Shield season for South Australia, where he made 704 runs at 78.22 with three centuries, including a match-winning 126 not out in the final against Queensland.
Australia’s selectors are desperately searching for quality top three options in their Test XI, particularly in Sangha’s age bracket. Sangha did score one of his Shield centuries last summer at No. 3 but only averages 36.78 in that position across 33 innings at the first-class level. Like so many of Australia’s batting options, his record is far superior at No. 4, where he averages 45.25 from 36 innings with five centuries and seven half-centuries.
There are several other players that have a chance to impress across the Australia A series including McSweeney. Two-Test batter Kurtis Patterson and domestic veteran Jake Weatherald have both been rewarded for outstanding Shield summers and have the chance to build a case for a top-three spot in the Test team given their experience in those positions.
Victorian youngsters Cambell Kellaway 22, and Oliver Peake 18, will also get a chance to impress across the series with former Australia captain Tim Paine coaching Australia A for the first time.
Australia A one-day squad: Sam Elliott, Matt Gilkes, Bryce Jackson, Zanden Jeh, Campbell Kellaway, Nathan McSweeney, Ollie Peake, Josh Philippe, Jack Nisbet, Matt Renshaw (c), Jason Sangha, Liam Scott, Billy Stanlake, Henry Thornton
Sri Lanka A one-day squad: Kamil Mishara, Lahiru Udara (c), Lasith Croospulle, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Nuwanidu Fernando, Pavan Rathnayake, Sahan Arachchige, Sonal Dinusha, Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Shiran Fernando, Isitha Wijesundara, Pramod Madushan, Mohamed Shiraz, Dushan Hemantha, Wanuja Sahan
[Cricinfo]
The United States military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces conducted “self-defence” strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island and “defeated multiple” Iranian missiles and drones as civilian vessels and regional allies Kuwait and Bahrain came under attack.
Kuwait’s military said air defence systems intercepted incoming drones and missiles, while Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said warning sirens were activated. Earlier, Iranian media reported that explosions were heard in the vicinity of Qeshm Island.
[Aljazeera]
In January 2024, the publication Axios reported that the United States president at the time, Joe Biden, was “running out of patience” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza had been raging for months by that point, and Biden was facing public backlash over US support for the conflict.
The assault would continue for the rest of Biden’s term and bleed into the first 10 months of Donald Trump’s second presidency.
Since then, media outlets have continued to publish anonymous accounts of rifts and “frustrating” calls between Trump and the Israeli prime minister. But US support for its Middle East ally has never wavered.
Another anonymously sourced report about a furious, expletive-laden call between US and Israeli leaders came out this week, and it spread rapidly across international media.
Axios reported on Monday that Trump called Netanyahu “f***ing crazy” and berated him over Israel’s escalation in Lebanon.
Around the same time, an Israeli attack killed six people, including two children, in the southern Lebanese town of al-Marwaniyah.
Experts say that despite leaks of feuds and harsh words between US leaders and Netanyahu, policies are ultimately what matters, and they have changed very little.
Ryan Costello, the policy director at the National Iranian American Council Action (NIAC), said political observers have grown to “mock” reports of closed-door anger from US presidents against Netanyahu.
“What’s really important is what actually happens in practice,” Costello told Al Jazeera.
Though there are reports of Trump giving Netanyahu a dressing-down, Isabelle Hayslip, an advocacy manager at the US-based rights group DAWN, said that US policy remains aligned with Israeli interests.
“Single-source reporting of Trump as a strongman who picks up the phone and yells at Netanyahu for undermining US policy is contradicted by the actual policy outcomes where Netanyahu gets exactly what he wants,” Hayslip told Al Jazeera.
“Trump has no final say over Israeli actions. Like his predecessors, the president has proved completely unable to prioritise American interests, instead catering to Israel’s expansionist whims.”
The latest report comes as Trump faces increasing pressure from his Democratic rivals and segments of his base over his handling of the war on Iran, which he launched jointly with Netanyahu on February 28.
The conflict, which saw Iran close the Strait of Hormuz, has sent gasoline prices soaring in the US and fuelled inflation.
Critics have accused Trump of allowing Israel to drag the US into a war that does not advance Washington’s priorities.
With negotiations to end the war stagnating, Israel’s escalation in Lebanon and its threat to bomb Beirut risks derailing the fragile truce that came into effect in April.
Iranian officials have suggested that they cut off contact with the US over the Israeli attacks in Lebanon.
Before the Axios report, Trump announced he had spoken to Netanyahu and an unidentified Hezbollah representative, and both sides agreed that “all shooting will stop”.
But Netanyahu was quick to assert that the Israeli military “will continue to operate as planned in southern Lebanon”, where it is deepening its invasion and turning entire towns into rubble.
Advocates say Israeli atrocities in Lebanon and across the region could not have happened without US backing.
Since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, the US has provided Israel with nearly $25bn in military aid, helped fend off retaliatory Iranian attacks against the country and vetoed several ceasefire resolutions at the United Nations Security Council.
Nonetheless, anonymous accounts that the US president is angry at Netanyahu have become a regular feature in the media.
Such reports are attributed to US officials, but it is unclear how leaks with a similar message on the same topic have continued across two administrations from different political parties.
Publicly, aides of both Biden and Trump have largely refrained from criticising Israel.
Trump has regularly praised the Israeli prime minister, arguing on more than one occasion that Israel would have ceased to exist without Netanyahu’s leadership.
In December, the US president also called the Israeli prime minister a “hero” during a meeting in Florida.
“We’re with you, and we’ll continue to be with you,” Trump told Netanyahu.
Two weeks earlier, Axios reported that the White House had “scolded” Netanyahu over Israel’s ceasefire violations in Gaza.
“The White House message to Netanyahu was: ‘If you want to ruin your reputation and show that you don’t abide by agreements, be our guest, but we won’t allow you to ruin President Trump’s reputation after he brokered the deal in Gaza,” the publication quoted a US official as saying.
Few people know the exact content of high-level calls at the White House. Sometimes, top officials, including members of the National Security Council, sit in on conversations between the president and world leaders after briefings.
Negar Mortazavi, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, a research nonprofit, said the leak about the tense call between Trump and Netanyahu may be aimed at making Trump look tough on Israel to quell outrage over the war.
“It could be sort of a way of moderating the anger or the blame at the US for continuing this unpopular, illegal, unnecessary war,” Mortazavi told Al Jazeera.
She added that the message it sends is, “Look, we’re very angry at Israel. We yell at them. We call them names.”
But Mortazavi stressed that policy is more important than rhetoric: “Does that change the facts on the ground?”
For his part, Costello argued that the leak was likely directed at Iran.
“I see this one primarily as a signal to the Iranians that Trump is serious, and he wants to insulate what’s happening in Lebanon and Israel’s attacks from the Iran negotiations,” Costello said.
“It remains to be seen the extent to which that excoriation has actually led to a change in Israel’s policies, and I think there is a strong incentive for continued defiance from Netanyahu.”
Axios, meanwhile, has defended its coverage.
“We stand by our reporting, which by the way noted ‘Trump and Netanyahu have had several tense calls in the past but have still coordinated closely on Iran and other issues,’” Jake Wilkins, a spokesperson for the publication, told Al Jazeera in an email.
Mortazavi warned that all sides of the war on Iran are trying to influence public perceptions of the conflict.
She pointed to recent reports that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had resigned, a rumour that was promptly denied by his office.
“This is a very hybrid war. It’s a war on the battlefield. It’s an intelligence war. It’s a war of narratives,” Mortazavi told Al Jazeera. “And then there’s also an information war, which includes disinformation, half-truths and strategic leaks.”
[Aljazeera]
Where once ODI bilaterals could have been fairly mocked for their lack of relevance, they are played less and less, and this series has a bit of heat to it. Qualification for the 2027 ODI World Cup is on the line, and both these sides know what it’s like to be left out of a major international tournament (both were missing from the last Champions Trophy, and West Indies had also not played the 2023 World Cup).
On March 31, 2027, the eight highest-ranking teams – aside from hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe – will qualify automatically for the World Cup, and teams slightly lower will have to fight their way in through a qualifier. Currently Sri Lanka are ranked sixth in ODIs, while West Indies are ninth. Both teams could do with a rankings boost.
Sri Lanka are in slightly better shape coming into this series. They have, at the very least, played ODIs this year, losing 2-1 at home to England. West Indies have lost four of their last five ODIs, and have not played the format for six months. Both teams have more or less their regular ODI troops to pick from, however. Sri Lanka’s seam stocks are in especially good health at present.
Sri Lanka’s ODI captaincy has been one of cricket’s most-puzzling roulette wheels over the past ten years. Kusal Mendis had had the job until 2024, when he was ousted with no reason provided. He has again been put in charge, perhaps with a view to him leading Sri Lanka into that 2027 World Cup campaign. There’s been little to recommend him for the role than his own buoyant batting form, however. How will he fare this time in what has turned out to be one of cricket’s most tumultuous positions?
With an average of 50.52 and 19 hundreds in this format, West Indies captain Shai Hope is the only batter in the series who can be called a reliable run machine. Hope hasn’t played competitive cricket since the T20 World Cup, but does have a decent record against Sri Lanka, against whom he has hit two ODI hundreds and four fifties. Like his opposite wicketkeeper-batter-captain Mendis, Hope will be a key figure as West Indies begin their push towards the 2027 World Cup in earnest.
West Indies will need to find a spot for Shimron Hetmyer, who is back in the ODI format. Ackeem Auguste may make way at the top of the order to allow Hetmyer back in. Gudakesh Motie will also likely lead the spin attack.
West Indies (possible): John Campbell, Shai Hope (capt.)(wk) , Keacy Carty, Shimron Hetmyer, Sherfane Rutherford, Roston Chase, Justin Greaves, Matthew Forde, Shamar Springer, Gudakesh Motie, Jayden Seales
Sri Lanka have serious decisions to make on the bowling front. In Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka, and Eshan Malinga, they have three bowlers capable of breaching 140kph.
Sri Lanka (possible): Kamil Mishara, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (capt, wk), Pavan Rathnayake, Charith Asalanka, Janith Liyanage, Kamindu Mendis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Eshan Malinga, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka
[Cricinfo]
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