David Warner and Mitchell Marsh are among 17 players who have been included in Australia’s squad for the first two Ashes Tests and the World Test Championship final.
Warner, a veteran opener, is trying to save his career after a rough stretch with the bat that made some people wonder if he was done.
But the 36-year-old will go to England as part of a 17-person team that also includes Josh Inglis as a backup wicketkeeper for Alex Carey and Marcus Harris and Matthew Renshaw as backup batters.
Peter Handscomb, a batsman who was on the recent Test tour of India and is now playing county cricket in England, did not get a spot.
Chairman of selectors George Bailey all but confirmed Warner would play in the World Test Championship final against India at The Oval on June 7. Warner is on his fourth Ashes tour.
But he wouldn’t promise Warner a spot on the team for the first Ashes Test in mid-June at Edgbaston.
“Not specifically to Dave, but I think we’ll get through that Test championship and then start to have a look at what it looks like,” he said when pressed on Warner’s longer-term place in the team.
“Different opposition, different surface. We’ll work through that.”
If Warner isn’t picked, Harris or Renshaw would replace him at the top of the order with Usman Khawaja.
Ashton Agar, Mitchell Sweepson, and Matt Kuhnemann, all spin bowlers who went to India, were left out of the bowling lineup. Instead, Todd Murphy was chosen as the second spin bowler behind Nathan Lyon.
“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,” said Bailey.
Big-hitting Marsh, who has been hurt for a long time, is back as a backup for Cameron Green, who is the first-choice all-rounder.
Marsh hasn’t played a Test since the 2019 Ashes tour, but he is a mainstay of Australia’s white-ball teams, and Bailey said he deserved another chance in the red-ball format.
“It’s great to have Mitch back, he hasn’t really had the opportunity to be bowling in longer-format cricket for some time and the (ankle) operation he had just prior to Christmas has worked really well,” he said.
“Mitch has performed well in the UK in the past and we think he can add some real value,” Bailey added.
Australia will play five Ashes Tests at Edgbaston, Lord’s, Headingley, Old Trafford, and The Oval after the final of the World Test Championship.
Bailey said that the squad would be re-evaluated after the first three games. He also said that Sean Abbott and Michael Neser were playing county cricket and could be called upon if extra fast bowling power was needed on what are expected to be flat decks.
Only captain Pat Cummins, Marsh, Josh Hazlewood, and Scott Boland are seam bowlers on the team right now.
“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,” Bailey said.
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (capt), 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, Mitchell Starc, David Warner.
Photo by EPA/DAVID NEILSON
