Cricket Australia has taken an important step in its process towards a possible tour of England.
Acknowledging there remain several hurdles to overcome, Cricket Australia's Executive General Manager of National Teams, Ben Oliver, noted the organisation's determination to do whatever is necessary to be ready.
The National Selection Panel (NSP) today named a preliminary list for the ODI and T20I tour of England - a positive step, albeit not a definitive one - as CA works toward a return to international cricket.
A final decision on the tour has not been made and constructive discussions between Cricket Australia, the England and Wales Cricket Board and all relevant government agencies remain ongoing.
However, given the proposed timelines for the tour and the need to provide players with adequate preparation time, the NSP has proactively selected an extended, preliminary list.
A final squad will be announced in the event the tour is confirmed.
The preliminary 26-player Australian list for a proposed Qantas Tour of England in September is:
Australia
Sean Abbott (New South Wales)
Ashton Agar (Western Australia)
Alex Carey (South Australia)
Pat Cummins (New South Wales)
Aaron Finch (Victoria)
Josh Hazlewood (New South Wales)
Travis Head (South Australia)
Usman Khawaja (Queensland)
Marnus Labuschagne (Queensland)
Nathan Lyon (New South Wales)
Mitchell Marsh (Western Australia)
Glenn Maxwell (Victoria)
Ben McDermott (Queensland)
Riley Meredith (Tasmania)
Michael Neser (Queensland)
Josh Philippe (Western Australia)
Daniel Sams (New South Wales)
D'Arcy Short (Western Australia)
Kane Richardson (South Australia)
Steven Smith (New South Wales)
Mitchell Starc (New South Wales)
Marcus Stoinis (Western Australia)
Andrew Tye (Western Australia)
Matthew Wade (Tasmania)
David Warner (New South Wales)
Adam Zampa (New South Wales)
Ben Oliver said: "The ECB are a long-standing and valued international cricket partner and we are doing all we can to give the tour the best possible chance of taking place.
"We continue to work with the ECB and government agencies and a decision on the tour will be made in due course.
"In the meantime, the identification of a preliminary list will enable us to work with players and states more directly on the preparation for the tour in the hope it can proceed.
"The health and wellbeing of players and staff, along with our commitment to public health within our communities, remain our utmost priority."
National Selector Trevor Hohns said: "This preliminary list covers the contingencies of playing One-Day Internationals and T20 Internationals in bio-secure hubs with the likely prospect of not being able to bring in replacements should the tour proceed.
"The preliminary list includes several exciting young players who have recently excelled at state level and in the BBL. These emerging players are those we would like to develop further as we believe they have a bright future in Australian cricket.
"The preliminary list also has a view towards the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup and in the longer term the 2023 ICC World Cup."
