Fraser-McGurk in contention to make T20I debut for Australia in third clash against Windies

MELBOURNE: Australia batter Jake Fraser-McGurk is in contention to make his T20I debut for the Baggy Greens after he was included in the squad for the final T20I game of the three-match series against West Indies. Along with Fraser-McGurk, Australia speedster Wes Agar has also been added into the mix with star pacer Josh Hazlewood returning to home after the conclusion of the second game to gear up for their upcoming series against New Zealand.

Xavier Bartlett who made his mark in Australia's 3-0 ODI series win against West Indies is also included in the squad and he could be one of the names that pops up to replace Hazlewood. Australia are likely to rest a number of the star players after gaining an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. This leaves room open for Fraser-McGurk to make his debut in the shortest format of cricket.

The 21-year-old caught the attention of selectors with his aggressive knock of 41 off 18 balls in the 3rd ODI in Canberra. He caught the eyes of the spectators by scoring a world-record 29-ball one-day hundred earlier in the season. However, he is not in contention to feature in the T20 World Cup but the selectors are monitoring his progress.

"We feel like we've got some pretty good options at the top of the order in that T20 side. Even then there are a couple of other guys who have batted in the middle or have batted at the top in T20 cricket who can cover as well. The talent's there [with Fraser-McGurk], he's one we're certainly keeping a close eye on," national selector George Bailey said last week as quoted from ESPNcricinfo. There is an enthralling prospect of him playing alongside explosive all-rounder Glenn Maxwell. The 35-year-old produced a quick-fire knock of 120* of 55 deliveries in the 2nd T20I to guide Australia to victory.

Maxwell was supposed to be rested for the second T20I, but he talked to selectors and changed their minds before he struck a record-breaking ton in 50 deliveries. "Originally I was supposed to not be playing, I was going to be rested. I sort of talked them into [it by going,] 'Yeah, I wouldn't mind playing this one, my family's going to be here', so they changed their mind, which was nice. I just thought, 'Imagine if I was rested for this game, they made the effort to come over here', but they had a Barossa tour yesterday so they were pretty happy," Maxwell said.

Australia T20I squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Wes Agar, Xavier Bartlett, Jason Behrendorff, Tim David, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.