Joe Root
Australia captain Mitch Marsh won the toss and elected to bowl in the series opener, which comes amid renewed attention on the 2018 Sandpapergate scandal. Marsh said the opening ODI of the three-match series would be an important start to a busy 12 months for Australia, which includes a home Test series against New Zealand, tours of India and England, and next year’s World Cup in South Africa. Australia are playing their first ODI since September, when they lost a three-match series 2-1 against South Africa.
Less than four hours before the toss, Australia Test captain Pat Cummins addressed a news conference in Sydney, dismissing claims made in Usman Khawaja’s autobiography, released this week, as “complete and utter nonsense.
“It’s the start of the summer for us (and) that first game is always important,” he said. Marsh said the young fast bowler would have a special occasion playing his first international match at home. No better place in the world for a young West Australian to debut,” Marsh said.
Beardman, who hails from Western Australia, is making his international debut. “It’s going to be exciting for him. “We’ve got a reasonably young and inexperienced side, but lots of energy.
England batting mainstay Joe Root on Friday became only the third player from the country to feature in 200 One-Day Internationals (ODIs). Root reached the milestone when he took the field for the first ODI against Australia at Perth Stadium.