Renshaw and Sangha to captain Australia A against Sri Lanka A

Matt Renshaw looms as a potential middle-order candidate in Australia's ODI rebuild after being elevated to the captaincy of the Australia A 50-over team, while Jason Sangha's stocks continue to rise after being named the four-day skipper for the upcoming matches against Sri Lanka A in Darwin.

Australia A host Sri Lanka A in three 50-over matches, beginning on Friday at Marrara Oval, before the two teams play two four-day red-ball games starting on July 13 and July 20 to complete the series.

Despite perennial Australia A captain and South Australia Sheffield Shield-winning captain Nathan McSweeney being in the squad, Australia's selectors opted to give leadership opportunities to Renshaw and Sangha for this series. Chairman of selectors George Bailey said the decision was in line with recent Australia A series where the selectors have used matches to give players opportunities that they might not get in domestic cricket.

"Selectors' acknowledged Nathan McSweeney's excellent leadership qualities, noting he's a natural leader who's demonstrated this skill with Australia A, South Australia, and the Prime Minister's XI," Bailey said. "The Australia A programme is often used to provide development opportunities for players who haven't had as much leadership experience. Nathan will continue to provide leadership within the series through his experience and assistance to Matt and Jason."

Renshaw, 29, has never captained Queensland and has only captained twice in 277 professional matches across all formats, leading Somerset in two matches in the Royal London Cup (one-day) competition in England in 2022. Sangha, 25, has quite a bit more captaincy experience by comparison, having led New South Wales in two Shield games and Sydney Thunder in six BBL games. He also led Australia at an Under-19s World Cup.

Renshaw has often been thought of as a red-ball specialist having already played 14 Tests for Australia, after debuting aged 20, without ever being considered to play limited overs cricket at international level. But his white-ball domestic record is exceptional, particularly in the very challenging position of No. 4. He has scored six List A centuries, two at No. 3 and four at No. 4, and averages 40.04 striking at 93.10 overall. At No. 4, his average improves to 45.07 and strike rate lifts to 97.50. In his last ten List A matches for Queensland, he is striking at 112.69, including scores of 102 off 68 against Victoria and 122 off 99 against Tasmania.

Australia are set to rebuild their ODI line-up over the next two years ahead of the 2027 World Cup following the retirements of Steven Smith and Glenn Maxwell. Renshaw's 360-degree game against pace and spin, as well as providing another left-hand option, makes him a strong candidate to get an opportunity in the near future, with Australia's squad for a three-match ODI series against South Africa in August to be announced soon.

Sangha gets the chance to build on his phenomenal Shield season for South Australia, where he made 704 runs at 78.22 with three centuries, including a match-winning 126 not out in the final against Queensland.

Australia's selectors are desperately searching for quality top three options in their Test XI, particularly in Sangha's age bracket. Sangha did score one of his Shield centuries last summer at No. 3 but only averages 36.78 in that position across 33 innings at the first-class level. Like so many of Australia's batting options, his record is far superior at No. 4, where he averages 45.25 from 36 innings with five centuries and seven half-centuries.

There are several other players that have a chance to impress across the Australia A series including McSweeney. Two-Test batter Kurtis Patterson and domestic veteran Jake Weatherald have both been rewarded for outstanding Shield summers and have the chance to build a case for a top-three spot in the Test team given their experience in those positions.

Victorian youngsters Campbell Kellaway, 22, and Oliver Peake, 18, will also get a chance to impress across the series with former Australia captain Tim Paine coaching Australia A for the first time.

Australia A one-day squad: Sam Elliott, Matt Gilkes, Bryce Jackson, Zanden Jeh, Campbell Kellaway, Nathan McSweeney, Ollie Peake, Josh Philippe, Jack Nisbet, Matt Renshaw (c), Jason Sangha, Liam Scott, Billy Stanlake, Henry Thornton

Sri Lanka A one-day squad: Kamil Mishara, Lahiru Udara (c), Lasith Croospulle, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Nuwanidu Fernando, Pavan Rathnayake, Sahan Arachchige, Sonal Dinusha, Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Shiran Fernando, Isitha Wijesundara, Pramod Madushan, Mohamed Shiraz, Dushan Hemantha, Wanuja Sahan