Australia’s 15-man team for the first Ashes Test, which will take place in Perth, includes Jake Weatherald, while Marnus Labuschagne has been called up to the Test setup.
Two additional uncapped players, Sean Abbott and Brendan Doggett, have also been picked by the hosts in addition to Weatherald.
The 31-year-old Weatherald was called up to the team after being Tasmania’s most impressive player in the Sheffield Shield last season, scoring 906 runs at an average of 50.33 in 18 innings. Given Sam Konstas’ exclusion from the squad, he is a strong candidate to open alongside Usman Khawaja.
Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, and Beau Webster.
Konstas, 20, was cut from the team because of his subpar performance during the West Indies tour. Only 50 runs, including two ducks, had been scored by Konstas in six innings in the Caribbean. Mitchell Marsh and Matthew Renshaw are the other two players that were not selected for the first Test match.
Steve Smith will captain the squad in Perth, as previously announced, after Pat Cummins’ back stress injury in the Caribbean in July of this year did not heal in time.
Khawaja and Travis Head are among the remaining batsmen, and Cameron Green and Beau Webster are the all-rounders. The only player in the team currently playing in the Twenty20 International series against India is Josh Inglis, who is the backup wicketkeeper along with Alex Carey. With Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Scott Boland joining the team to replace Pat Cummins, the bowling attack has a similar appearance to Nathan Lyon, who is the only spinner.
The selectors’ chair, George Bailey, stated that while the squad provides them with good balance, as the first Test draws nearer, they would consider creating a playing XI. “The squad gives us good balance and, with 14 of those chosen playing the next round of Sheffield Shield (barring Inglis), we will continue to gather information as we move closer to the start of the first Test.”
On Nov. 21, the first Test will start.
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