Australia have named their 15-man squad for the opening two Tests for the Ashes which starts on December 8. Australian skipper Tim Paine will return to competitive cricket after neck surgery in September who also captained Australia in 2019 Ashes win (retained after a scoreline of 2-2) in England. The left-handed batter Usman Khwaja gets a recall in the side after his strong performance in Sheffield Shield.
Surprisingly, Australia’s T20 World Cup 2021 winners, Matthew Wade and Mitchell Marsh aren’t included in the squad despite their heroics in the semi-final and final of the event respectively.
Speaking on the matter, Cricket Australia (CA) national selector, George Bailey cleared the air by insisting that the T20 World Cup performance won’t be a factor rather they are considering the performances in the domestic while selecting a team in the longer format.
"Marcus has been a consistent run-scorer domestically and had a strong winter further developing his game with Leicestershire. He is a good player who will be looking to build a strong partnership with David Warner at the top of the order,” Bailey revealed.
"Travis finished last summer strongly, second only to Cameron Green for runs scored, and has again started the season well. He drives the game forward and can put the opposition under pressure with his ability to score quickly. Similarly, Usman Khawaja has been in great touch. He brings a calm, consistent and experienced component to the batting lineup and is a proven run-scorer at the Test level. He also has the ability to bat across a range of positions in the batting order,’ Australia's national selector added.
Jhye Richardson and Michael Neser are also included in the squad to grow the fast bowling depth, although the latter recently sustained a minor hamstring strain playing for Queensland in the Sheffield Shield.
"Jhye is seeing the rewards of concentrating on his red-ball cricket in the build-up to this series. We know he has an exceptional skill set and is excited about what he brings to the team now his body is back on track," the 39-year-old concluded.
Australia Test Squad: Tim Paine (c), Pat Cummins (vc), Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner
