Tasmania opener Caleb Jewell has earned his maiden call-up to the Australian A side, replacing Victorian Peter Handscomb.
Originally named in the Australia A squad to tour New Zealand, Handscomb has withdrawn from the tour after gaining an offer with English county side Leicestershire.
It will be the middle-order batsman's third season playing county cricket after a two-year stint with Middlesex, where he was the captain.
In a media statement put out by Cricket Australia, the Australian cricket governing body stated those who have English country cricket deals will be ineligible to represent Australia A.
"Players with upcoming County Cricket deals were not considered for Australia A selection as they will already be subject to English conditions prior to the Ashes," the statement said.
Replacing Handscomb is Tasmanian Caleb Jewell. Jewell is coming off an incredible 2022-23 cricket season in both the Marsh Sheffield Sheild and Marsh One-Day Cup.
He finished the third-highest run-scorer in the Sheffield Shield, accumulating 652 runs at an average of 38.35 runs an innings. This included two centuries against South Australia and Western Australia.
Adding to his resume this season, Jewell had two centuries in the Marsh One-Day Cup and finished the tournament as the fifth-highest run-scorer.
Australia A squad:ย Wes Agar, Xavier Bartlett, Aaron Hardie, Caleb Jewell, Spencer Johnson, Campbell Kellaway, Nathan McSweeney, Joel Paris, Mitch Perry, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson, Tim Ward, Teague Wyllie
The first game between Australia A and New Zealand will take place on April 1-4, with the second game following on April 8-11.
