Brad Hodge will captain and coach the Australian squad for the Hong Kong Sixes tournament later this month.
Meyrick Buchanan, Cameron Borgas, Travis Birt, Tim Armstrong, Theo Doropoulos and Steve Paulsen have also been named in the squad.
It is a surprise return to the green and gold for Hodge who was consistently overlooked for Australian selection from 2008 onwards despite scoring heavily in domestic cricket and averaging 55.88 in Tests.
"I'm excited about the tournament, especially because it's been a long time since I've put on the Australian colours," Hodge said.
"I'll be taking on a bit of a mentoring role as coach and captain and I look forward to sharing my knowledge with the guys, particularly with someone like Meyrick Buchanan, who's still only a teenager but has been very impressive so far.
"I think it will be a great learning experience for all of us and a good opportunity to find a bit of form before the start of the Big Bash League."
National talent manager Greg Chappell selected the team for the tournament at the Kowloon Cricket Club, which begins on October 27, and said there is the incentive of other limited over cricket honours for players who perform well.
"We have a good mix of youth and experience in this squad and the younger squad members will benefit from Brad Hodge's presence as captain/coach," Chappell said.
"Australia has a good record in Hong Kong and this tournament has exposed the talent of the likes of David Warner in the past. No doubt Brad will be keen for his team to acquit themselves well."
David Warner and Glenn Maxwell were both in the side when Australia won the 2010 tournament.
According to the tournament rules, each team fields six players with each game consisting of a maximum of five six-ball overs bowled by each side. This is increased to eight-ball overs in the final.
Tags: sport, cricket, hong-kong, australia First posted October 10, 2012 13:24:48
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