Cricket: Faulkner 'The Finisher' unwanted in Australian squad

Faulkner was the hero of Australia's famous Cup triumph on home soil back in 2015. Photo / Photosport

Two years after he was named man-of-the-match in the World Cup final, James Faulkner has been sensationally dumped from Australia's one-day squad for the Champions Trophy.

Faulkner and Usman Khawaja are the shock omissions from a 15-man squad that includes six-hitting machine Chris Lynn and allrounder Moises Henriques.

Australian selectors have decided to unleash the entirety of the four-pronged pace attack they hope will decimate England in the summer Ashes, with James Pattinson included alongside Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc - who is expected to recover from a foot injury in time.

Faulkner was the hero of Australia's famous Cup triumph on home soil back in 2015 - sealing his reputation as "The Finisher" with a superb man-of-the-match effort against New Zealand in the final.

However, selectors have signalled a changing of the guard looking forward to the team's World Cup defence in 2019, and the emergence of Cummins and Pattinson has squeezed out one of the most renowned limited overs cricketers on the planet.

"James has been a consistent performer for the one-day squad for several years, however with players such as Pattinson, Cummins and John Hastings coming back to full fitness and the emergence of Marcus Stoinis, James was an unlucky omission," said national selector Trevor Hohns.

Khawaja has been in and out of the one-day squad for several years while Aaron Finch, who has been skating on thin ice for a while in one-day cricket, has been backed in ahead of Khawaja, with Brisbane Big Bash star Lynn also added to a strong batting line-up.