Marsh outlines Australia's likely World Cup batting lineup ahead of England ODI series

Australia's stand-in ODI captain Mitchell Marsh used Thursday's press conference in Perth to confirm that the side's top six batsmen for the upcoming World Cup are likely to be himself, Travis Head, Cooper Connolly, Matt Renshaw, Josh Inglis and Cameron Green. He said the lineup will also feature in the first match of the three-day ODI series against England at Optus Stadium, noting that the team will not play another ODI series until mid-2027.

Marsh added that several regular bowlers, including Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, will be rested during this period. "We've got a batting line-up that I see being at that World Cup, and it's sort of where we end up," he said.

The captain also announced the international debut of Western Australia fast bowler Mahli Beardman, who previously appeared in a T20I in Pakistan. > "He's an amazing talent. He's a ripping young kid. For a young kid, he really understands his game early on. He loves to bowl fast," Marsh said.

Marsh confirmed he declined a potential Test comeback after being approached by Cummins, citing the upcoming birth of his second child.

The conference was largely steered toward the 2018 ball-tampering controversy following the release of Usman Khawaja's autobiography. Marsh fielded repeated questions on the matter before the discussion shifted back to the ODI series.

England captain Harry Brook, who joined Marsh for a light-hearted photo shoot, was also asked about the scandal. > "I've never seen any ball-tampering before. I think I was about 17 or 18 years old at the time of the 2018 scandal, so I was completely oblivious to that stuff," he said.

Cummins is scheduled to address the media in Sydney later in the week, ahead of the series opener.