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Cricket Australia (CA) on April 19 (Wednesday) announced a 17-member senior men's squad for the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) final and the first two Ashes Test matches. Explosive opening batter David Warner, who has been grappling to find his best form in red-ball cricket, kept his place in the squad. Three players - all-rounder Mitchell Marsh, batter Marcus Haris and wicket-keeper Josh Inglis - have been recalled to the national side as the troika was not a part of the Australian squad for the Test series against India earlier in the year. Pat Cummins will return to lead Australia after missing a substantial amount due to personal issues.
"The UK is a very different assignment from our most recent tour of India and some of the changes are based upon the conditions we are anticipating," George Bailey, National Selection Panel Chair of Selectors, said.
"Marcus, Josh and Mitch return to the squad and provide valuable depth and flexibility within their respective skillsets.
"We see value in revisiting the squad following the second Ashes Test given the short turnaround between the WTC final and the first Ashes Test, along with the length of the tour," he added.
India and Australia will square off in the second edition of the WTC final at a neutral venue which will make the contest even more compelling. It will be for the first time in two decades that India and Australia will lock horns in an ICC tournament final. The last time these two sides locked horns in an ICC final was in 2003 when Australia defeated India in the ODI World Cup final. The 2023 WTC final will be between June 7 and June 11 at The Oval, London.
The Ashes series will commence soon after the completion of the WTC final on June 16. Australia thrashed England 4-0 at home in the last Ashes series.
Squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, David Warner
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