Short & Fotia named in Aussie U-19s

Short, a Commonwealth Bank Bushrangers rookie, made a sparkling start to his Under-19 career with a century on debut against New Zealand earlier this year, while Fotia snared 4-44 with the new ball during the opening one-day match.

Cricket Australia National Talent Manager Greg Chappell said the squad was selected with one eye firmly on the up-coming Under-19 ICC Cricket World Cup.

“We are pleased with the balance and talent of this squad as we look ahead to next year’s Under-19 ICC Cricket World Cup in Dubai,” Chappell said.

“This series allows us to continue to develop our best emerging players, while also giving our Youth Selection Panel a number of options leading into the Under-19 ICC Cricket World Cup.

“Darwin, as host of this year’s Under-19 International Series, will present a great opportunity for our cricketers to test themselves in conditions similar to what they will experience next year in Dubai.

“This squad contains a number of players from our recent successful Under-19 tour to New Zealand, including tournament top-scorers Matthew Short and Sean Willis. In particular, we have focused on a number of promising young fast bowlers, with a mind on building and developing our fast bowling stocks.”

The squad will be guided by CA High Performance Coach Stuart Law, who was also the Australian Under-19 coach during the 2012 World Cup.

The Under-19 International Series will be held in Darwin from Sunday, June 30 until Friday, July 12 and contains a friendly against PNG.

Australian Under-19 squad: Matthew Short (Vic), Damien Mortimer (NSW), Tom Leaver (WA), Ben McDermott (QLD), Sean Willis (TAS), Alex Gregory (SA), Jake Doran (NSW), Riley Ayre (NSW), Matthew Kelly (WA), Josh Dunning (WA), Matthew Fotia (VIC), Jeremy Maher (NSW), Gabe Bell (TAS) and Cameron Valente (SA).