Under-19 World Cup champion Mahli Beardman has been rushed to the United Kingdom to join Australia’s squad as a reserve player ahead of the five-match ODI series against England.
The 19-year-old seamer, who is yet to make his first-class debut, could earn his maiden international cap this month should the Australian squad suffer further casualties.
“It’s pretty surreal, just so unexpected,” Beardman said from Perth airport before departing for the UK.
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“I started the morning off with a little message from Tony (Dodemaide); I didn’t think it was real to be honest, I thought it might have been one of the boys pranking me.
“But I gave him a call back and got talking and he said come over to England to train and be around the squad.”
Australia has already lost pace bowlers Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Riley Meredith and Spencer Johnson to injury, while Josh Hazlewood missed the T20s against Scotland with a calf strain. Meanwhile, Pat Cummins was not selected for the United Kingdom white-ball tour so he could work on strength and conditioning ahead of the home summer.
New South Wales seamer Ben Dwarshuis joined the Australian squad ahead of Sunday’s third T20 against England, which was abandoned due to weather, while rising star Cooper Connolly will also remain in the UK for the ODIs.
Beardman, who has previously been spotted on the bench during Test matches in Perth as part of Cricket Australia’s under-19 induction program, made his List A debut for Western Australia in November 2023, snaring 1-41 against New South Wales at Silverwater’s Cricket Central.
The right-armer, capable of bowling above 140km/h, was a member of the triumphant Under-19 World Cup squad that lifted the trophy in South Africa earlier this year. He was named player of the final after taking 3-15 from seven overs against India in Benoni, finishing the tournament with ten scalps at 10.50.
The previous Australian to be named player of an Under-19 World Cup final was Hazlewood in 2010.
“I think there’s still a lot of things that I can change in my action that can get me an extra little yard of pace,” Beardman told ESPNcricinfo earlier this year.
“I think there’s a long way for me to go in the gym to get more strength, so I definitely think I can hit the magical 150 mark.”
The first ODI between England and Australia gets underway at Trent Bridge on Thursday at 9.30pm AEST.
Australian ODI squad
Mitch Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa
Reserve: Mahli Beardman