New Delhi, Feb 5 (IANS): Former skipper Ricky Ponting believes Australia should consider making a shock call and bring in an uncapped all-rounder Mitch Owen to replace injured Mitch Marsh for their upcoming ICC Men's Champions Trophy campaign.
Marsh, a key figure in the Australia limited-overs set-up, was ruled out of the upcoming event last month due to a back injury and national selectors have until February 12 to finalise his replacement and submit their final squad of 15 to the ICC.
Australia haven’t named a replacement yet, but Ponting suggested Owen's name, who dominated the recent Big Bash League, and thinks the 23-year-old can make the step up to international level quickly if given the chance.
I'm not sure which way they'll go to be honest. I don't know if you guys have been watching the BBL (Big Bash League), but we've had one young kid that's just emerged out of nowhere, a kid called Mitch Owen, who has opened the batting for the Hobart Hurricanes,” Ponting said on The ICC Review.
In the BBL, Owen led the run-scoring charts with 452 runs at a sensational strike rate of 203.60. He also managed to get three scalps with his medium pace and ended up winning a contract with Paarl Royals in the SA20 league.
"He's also an all-rounder, probably more suited (as a replacement for Marsh). I mean, Mitch Marsh has batted in the top three in one-day cricket, mostly in the last couple of years anyway.
“Mitch Owen has opened the batting in T20 cricket and opened the batting for Tasmania in the (domestic ODI competition) Marsh Cup this season, which is our 50-over format.
"Look, honestly I'd be surprised if it is him, but I think the selectors now know that there is a really high-quality replacement there," Ponting added.
Australia will begin their Champions Trophy campaign against England on February 22 at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Australia preliminary squad: Pat Cummins (c), Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus LabUschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa.