World Cup hero James Faulkner has been left bewildered after being overlooked for Australia's squad for the Champions Trophy.
There was better news however for James Pattinson, who was named in the 15-man squad for the June event in the United Kingdom and is poised to make his first international appearance since February 2016.
Pattinson, 26, is one of five quicks picked, with fellow Victorian John Hastings also named to return from injury.
Injury-prone speedster Pattinson hasn't played at international level since breaking down in New Zealand during a Test series early last year. After a lengthy rehabilitation, he returned to dominate the back half of the Sheffield Shield season, helping Victoria to their third straight title.
He is already in England, having joined county Nottinghamshire this season, where he made headlines after being reprimanded by the England & Wales Cricket Board on Wednesday night (Australian time) for excessive appealing in a match against Durham.
Pattinson's selection keeps alive the prospect of the dream four-pronged pace attack of Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Pattinson playing together.
Hastings' inclusion is perhaps more surprising after a summer cruelled by a broken finger before season-ending knee surgery. But the workhorse toiled his way into contention for the squad, with his seam bowling skills particularly suitable in English conditions. Hastings has been picked ahead of beanpole young quick Billy Stanlake, who featured at ODI level over the summer.
Both Queensland batsman Chris Lynn and star left-arm paceman Starc have also been named despite recent injury problems. The explosive Lynn suffered another shoulder injury earlier this month playing in the Indian Premier League, but selectors are confident he will be available for the tournament. Starc is in a similar boat, after a foot fracture prematurely ended his involvement in Australia's recent Test series in India.
All-rounders Moises Henriques and Marcus Stoinis have been picked in place of Faulkner and Mitch Marsh, who also hurt his shoulder during the India series.
Faulkner has paid the price for an underwhelming two years with the bat, with the all-rounder overlooked for the upcoming tournament.
The Tasmanian has been a mainstay of the Australian ODI team in recent years, and was man of the match against New Zealand in the 2015 World Cup final, but hasn't reached 50 since February, 2015. It's understood Faulkner was taken aback by his non-selection given he remains the fifth-ranked ODI all-rounder in the world.
National selection chairman Trevor Hohns explained Faulkner's dumping. "James has been a consistent performer for the one-day squad for several years, however with players such as Pattinson, Cummins and Hastings coming back to full fitness and the emergence of Marcus Stoinis, James was squeezed out of the squad and an unlucky omission," Hohns said.
Opener Aaron Finch has been favoured ahead of Shaun Marsh and Usman Khawaja, however those two batsmen could still be in contention if Lynn cannot prove his fitness ahead of the event. The Australian squad flies to the UK on May 18 ahead of their first game against New Zealand on June 2 in Birmingham. Australia also face Bangladesh and England in the group stage.
Squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, John Hastings, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa.
