Fraser-McGurk included in Australia's playing XI for 1st WI T20I as Short ruled out

Kingston [Jamaica], July 20 (ANI): Young Australian opener Jake Fraser-McGurk has been included in the T20I playing XI for first match against West Indies, as Matt Short was ruled out of the series in Caribbean due to a "minor" side strain, reported cricket.com.au.
Short, who has scored 293 runs with a fifty and taken seven wickets in 14 T20Is for Australia so far, pulled up sore after training in Jamaica ahead of the first of the five T20Is against West Indies and has been sent back home. He had a fine Major League Cricket (MLC) stint with San Francisco Unicorns, having made 360 runs in eight matches with five fifties and taken six wickets, with his team crashing out in eliminator.
Fraser-McGurk, who had a mixed MLC season with 275 runs in 11 matches including two half-centuries for San Francisco Unicorns, has a golden chance in his hands to seal his spot in T20I line-up. The hard-hitter burst onto the scene with a record-breaking 29-ball century in List A cricket fixture for South Australia before making his debut against the same opposition last year.
He gained major spotlight following a prolific Indian Premier League (IPL) for Delhi Capitals (DC) last year, with 330 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of over 234 including four half-centuries. But he has failed to maintain consistency since then in international and franchise cricket. In seven T20Is so far, he has scored just 113 runs at an average of 16.14, strike rate of 143.03 with a half-century. In seven ODIs, he has made 98 runs, averaging 14.00, with best score of 41.
He was a late call-up to the tour, initially left out of the squad and was added as a replacement for pacer Spencer Johnson who was ruled out of due to back soreness.
Mitchell Owen, the Hobart Hurricanes' superstar from their maiden Big Bash League title win this year, will be making his international debut during the first T20I. He had a solid season in MLC with Washington Freedom, scoring 313 runs in 11 innings with two fifties at a strike rate of over 194 and taking 14 wickets, including a five-wicket haul. His team lost the finals to MI New York.
Tim David, who played a crucial role in Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)'s maiden IPL winning campaign this year, has been rested, still recovering from the hamstring injury sustained in the IPL. All-rounder Cooper Connolly will be batting at number seven.
Short is expected to return for home white-ball matches against South Africa, starting from August 10.
Also missing this T20I series are Test mainstays Travis Head, Alex Carey and the fast-bowling trio of Pat Cummins, Mitch Starc and Josh Hazlewood following Australia's 3-0 sweep of the Frank Worrell Trophy.
Australia XI: Mitch Marsh (c), Jake Fraser-McGurk, Josh Inglis (wk), Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Owen, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa. (ANI)