For the first Ashes Test match against England, former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has announced his preferred lineup, choosing Brendan Doggett to support the pace attack and supporting Jake Weatherald for a Test debut. With pacers Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, as well as backup fast Sean Abbott, ruled out of the opening Test, Australia has been plagued by growing injury concerns ahead of the major series.
Ponting’s suggested Australia XI incorporates a rookie and a redesigned fast-bowling unit to make up for the loss of important senior players, taking into consideration these setbacks as well as the necessity for balance and the ideal squad composition.
Jake Weatherald, (Usman) Khawaja, and Marnus Labuschagne at three, in my opinion, make up Australia’s top batting order. On The ICC Review, Ponting stated, “He’s (Labuschagne) done absolutely everything that’s been asked of him over the last month, scoring hundreds at will, coming back into the side at No. 3.”
“Steve Smith at four, Travis Head at five, Cameron Green at six, and Carey at seven.” I believe that will be Australia’s squad with (Scott) Boland, (Mitchell) Starc, and possibly Doggett getting the nod ahead of Michael Neser and Nathan Lyon, who were always going to play anyway,” he continued.
Ponting described Australia’s selection conundrum ahead of the Ashes with his ideal starting lineup. Hazlewood’s hamstring strain is a serious setback; after 76 games, he is almost at 300 Test wickets, and his absence is made worse by the normal captain’s absence. As a result, Michael Neser was draughted by the selectors as extra cover for the first Test, and Boland, Mitchell Starc, and Doggett make up the front-line fast-bowling trio.
“My answers could have been a little different a week ago if you had asked me to choose the XI. It goes without saying that Josh Hazlewood suffered a hamstring strain in the most recent Sheffield Shield match. Brendan Doggett has already been brought into the squad. Ponting added, “Michael Neser has also been called into the squad.”
A week ago, I thought they would start Jake Weatherald at number one, Labuschagne at number three, and Doggett would likely just come in. Boland replaces Pat Cummins. Now, however, things might be different. The absence of Hazelwood means that Starc, Boland, and most likely Doggett will be present. Do they now believe that, in terms of all-rounders, they might require additional bowling cover? Do they now believe that Beau Webster could also need to be on that side? Therefore, there are many questions about which I am unsure of the answer or the consequence,” he continued.
After his impressive Sheffield Shield outing, in which he hammered a superb 94 for Western Australia and impressed with a quick stint that included a wicket in the first innings, he pointed out that Cameron Green’s workload would have been well within reasonable bounds with a fully fit pace attack. However, Beau Webster is now firmly involved in the selecting process due to Hazlewood’s absence. In his most recent appearance for Tasmania, Webster put up a strong bowling performance, taking eight wickets, including a remarkable 5/50 in the first innings.
“I think they would have been more than comfortable going into a Perth Test with Cameron Green as the all-rounder who could bowl eight, ten, or twelve overs in an innings if they had their full strength bowling group,” Ponting stated after the Shield match last week.
Beau Webster also missed out on two innings of batting in this most recent Shield match, but he took eight wickets with the ball. Therefore, in terms of selection, he has also thrown a bit of a wrench into the works there,” he said.
The starting lineup that Ricky Ponting prefers for the Ashes opener:
Travis Head, Steve Smith (C), Jake Weatherald, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey (WK), Cameron Green, Scott Boland, Mitchell Starc, Brendan Doggett, Nathan Lyon
India
