Marsh named Australian T20 captain for SA tour, Cummins has wrist fracture

Mitchell Marsh was named Australia's new Twenty20 captain on Monday for their tour of South Africa, as selectors revealed Test and one-day skipper Pat Cummins has a fractured wrist but should be fit for the Cricket World Cup.

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Marsh will take the armband for the first three T20 matches since Aaron Finch's retirement, leading a squad missing Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Cameron Green and David Warner, who are all being rested.

Cummins will also be absent as he recovers from the injury sustained in the final Ashes Test in London.

All of them will join up for the one-day leg of the South African tour.

"He has an undisplaced fracture of his left radius which requires six weeks rehabilitation," chairman of selectors George Bailey said of Cummins.

"We expect him to join the squad during the South African ODI series. We view a period of enforced rest for Pat as a positive ahead of this important World Cup campaign.

"There are still a number of games he could play before the World Cup which is more than enough for him to have a strong preparation," he added.

Rising all-rounder Spencer Johnson, power-hitter Matthew Short and left-arm seamer Aaron Hardie all earned maiden national call-ups for the T20 games.

Jason Behrendorff also returns to national colours for the first time since the 2022 Pakistan tour.

"Mitch has long been a senior player within the white-ball structure, with this an opportunity for him to add to his leadership skills at international level," said Bailey of Marsh's elevation.

"We look forward to him taking that step in South Africa."

Marsh was named as skipper for the South Africa series only, with Cricket Australia yet to