Within 24 hours after smashing 28-ball 64 in the first T20I against South Africa, Australia have added Tim David to the ODI squad for the upcoming series against Proteas. Coming in to bat at 77/4 after 7 overs, David thumped the South African bowlers at will smashing seven fours and four sixes during his stay in the middle. Thanks to his knock, Australia managed to post 226 runs on the board in 20 overs. David has now been a chance to make a last-minute claim for a spot in the World Cup squad despite not being part of initial 18-member provisional list.
Australia are currently ravaged by injuries to their key players - Steve Smith, Pat Cummins and Glenn Maxwell. While Smith and Cummins are expected to get fit in time for the India series prior to the World Cup, Maxwell's latest ankle injury has raised concerns and that could be the reason they've included David to keep him ready. This is the second time in as many years David has been a last-minute inclusion in the squad ahead of a mega event. Last year, he made it to the T20 World Cup squad despite not playing much for the team and now has become an indispenable part of the T20 team.
"Tim is already here for the T20 series which offers an opportunity to see how his game can translate to the one-day format. He will provide an extra option for us in that power role at the back end of an innings," selector Tony Dodemaide according to cricket.com.au. Stand-in T20 captain Mitchell Marsh was all praise of David post his 64-run knock in the series opener. "The great thing about Tim is he's very level-headed. He knows his role in T20 cricket can be inconsistent. But his ability to win us matches is why he's in this team and we've got full faith in that.
"I want him to play however he wants to play every game and I know that if he does that, he'll win us games. He's an outstanding asset for Australian cricket," Marsh said.
Australia's updated ODI squad for South Africa series: Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marnus Labuschagne, Tanveer Sangha, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa
