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Marcus Stoinis's car was towed away when news about his maiden Australia call-up came

Stoinis, of Greek origin and a Delhi Daredevils team member in IPL 2015, is set to make his ODI debut, as also his two other Australia 'A' players Joe Burns and Ashton Agar currently in Chennai for the 'A' triangular series, the final of which the Aussies have already entered.

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Marcus Stoinis could be the all-rounder Australia are looking for in the months to come. He can hit big in limited-overs, like he smashed six sixes in an over for Australia's National Performance Squad in a domestic game last month in Brisbane. He has also shown that he has the game for the longer format by averaging 49 with the bat for Victoria last season.

Consistent performances for his adopted state Victoria, after taking the long flight from Western Australia a couple of seasons ago saw him represent Australia 'A' on the two-'Test' tour of India last month. On Wednesday, Stoinis realised his dream of representing his country in international cricket when he was named in the limited-overs squad to face Ireland and England in ODIs and a lone Twenty20 International at the end of the fifth Ashes Test later this month.

Stoinis, of Greek origin and a Delhi Daredevils team member in IPL 2015, is set to make his ODI debut, as also his two other Australia 'A' players Joe Burns and Ashton Agar currently in Chennai for the 'A' triangular series, the final of which the Aussies have already entered.

Stoinis was on Tuesday arranging to figure out how to get back his car that was towed away by the authorities when his mobile rang with chief selector Rodney Marsh at the other end to inform him of his prospective ODI debut in the British Isles.

Stoinis said: “I just got back from Malaysia (on Tuesday), parked my car in front of the hotel and was waiting to check my bags in. When I came out, there was no car. It was towed away. I went to pick my car up. It was quite an atmosphere as everyone was angry. There were probably 20 people in there. I left the place and that's when I got a call from Rod Marsh,” the 25-year-old right-handed batsman and medium-pacer said.

Stoinis, on his tour of India recently, had scores of 77, 9 and 10 in the two 'A' 'Tests' besides picking up three wickets in all in Chennai.

The Western Australian-born Stoinis said that the score of 77 helped him, as did hitting those six sixes in an over. “Every score helps. As a professional, you need to be as consistent as you can. It was probably a good test to be in India in those conditions. The main thing was it can never hurt doing well.”

Stoinis said that he was glad to be part of the side in which Steve Smith takes over as full-time Australian captain. He has played with and against Smith in the age-group tournaments. “I played all my under-age stuff against Steve and played Australia U-19 with him. Even then, you could tell he just learns from everything he does and you can see it from the way he plays. He is a very smart cricketer. Am excited to be involved in his first proper stint of captaincy,” Stoinis said.

The upcoming trip to England will not be Stoinis's first visit there. “I went there four years ago for a stint with Kent second team. I was there for 6 weeks.”

The Ashes defeat for Australia has fired him up even more to perform well in the ODIs. “Avenging the Ashes defeat is not so personal for me. As an Aussie in general, we want to do well. I have some benchmarks that i want to achieve,” said Stoinis.

Stoinis will not feel a stranger in the Australian squad and is glad to have familiar faces including his recent Australia 'A' team-mates including Matthew Wade, Ashton Agar, Joe Burns and Victoria team-mate James Pattinson.

Speedster Pattinson, himself recalled into the ODI squad after a long injury lay-off, was excited about Stoinis's Australia selection. He said: “Marcus Stoinis is a great kid, an ultimate professional. He's done a great job for Victoria over the last couple of years. He is a strong all-rounder who can bowl heavy ball and hit the ball a long way. He's great inclusion into the team. It's just exciting for him to be part of the team, which a lot of people saw it coming.”

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