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Ahead of the Champions Trophy 2025, Australia batter and stand-in skipper Steve Smith praised bowlers Ben Dwarshius and Spencer Johnson, saying that they each have unique skills.
Ahead of the prestigious tournament, Australia conceded a 2-0 ODI series defeat against Sri Lanka. Earlier on Friday, the Aussies suffered a 174-run loss against Sri Lanka on Friday in the second match of the series. Mitchell Starc had been withdrawn from the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy, citing personal reasons, as Australia reshuffled their 15-player squad under the leadership of Steve Smith. Australia was already dealing with significant setbacks following the injuries to Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Marsh. Starc's withdrawal further depletes their frontline pace attack for the tournament, which begins on February 19 in Pakistan and the UAE. Steve Smith said that captaining the newcomers will involve communicating with them and trying to get the right option. He added that Dwarshius and Johnson were trying to swing the ball back down the line. "I think they've all got their own unique skills. For me, captaining them, it's about me communicating with them and trying to get the right option out of them at the right time. They all do it differently, Ben Dwarshius and Spencer Johnson up-top trying to swing the ball back down the line. Sean (Abbott) has terrific lengths, Nathan Ellis has change-ups," Smith was quoted by ICC as saying. With spin expected to be a factor in Pakistan for the Champions Trophy, the 35-year-old added that Australia have good spinners in the squad. "Yeah, we've got a couple of spinners as well with (Adam) Zampa and Tanveer (Sangha), who's got a good skill set," he said. "[In] Maxwell and Short, we've got plenty of part-time options," he added. Smith-led Australia to begin their Champions Trophy 2025 voyage against England in Lahore on February 22. Australia Champions Trophy squad: Steve Smith (C), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa (ANI)
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