The time for pre-Ashes barbs and selection speculation is almost over after Australia named a 15-player squad to take on England in the Perth Test. The extended lineup for the series opener hints at the need for cool heads in the heat of an Ashes series with Jake Weatherald included for the first time at the expense of firebrand opener Sam Konstas.
But with Marnus Labuschange surging back into form, and the only other uncapped players being a pair of fast bowling backups, there is a familiarity to the squad even without injured captain Pat Cummins. Here is how each player (in alphabetical order) will stare down the Bazball bravado, with a star rating out of five indicating their potential influence on the series starting on 21 November.
Sean Abbott
The experienced fast bowler is again trusted as a back-up after being a regular in the white-ball sides in recent years. With Cummins’s return date still uncertain, and the other front-line bowlers facing a gruelling schedule, the 33-year-old will want to continue his good form to remain in the frame for a Test debut. ★☆☆☆☆
Scott Boland
The fourth-best fast bowler in Australia has become a target for England for his unflattering returns during the 2023 Ashes as much as for his quiet nature away from the pitch. But the 36-year-old has not taken 62 wickets at an average of 16.53 – including a hat-trick in his most recent Test against West Indies – without being a threat at this level and should embrace the rare opportunity to begin a series in the opener. ★★★☆☆
Alex Carey
The first-choice wicketkeeper is back in the simmering cauldron of an Ashes series hoping to make his mark with the bat and his gloves, as much as for his hand in a moment to remember when stumping out Jonny Bairstow at Lord’s in 2023. The 34-year-old is now a much more assured batter whether required to lift the run-rate or help steer the lower-order with a match-turning knock. ★★★★☆
Brendan Doggett
The South Australia fast bowler has been on the fringes of the national team across recent Test series and is back after taking 33 wickets – including 11 in the final – at an average of 24.15 in last summer’s Sheffield Shield. An international debut is now within reach while Cummins is sidelined and the front-line quicks prepare for a gruelling five Tests in seven weeks. ★☆☆☆☆
Cameron Green
The highly touted all-rounder had been earmarked for the Test team from early in his career even amid injury concerns, and the time has come for him to make a significant contribution to a high-stakes series. The 26-year-old was the pick of the top-order batters while coming in at No 3 in difficult conditions in the Caribbean but could be preferred lower down to ensure he can also support the pace attack. Whether Green can feasibly be selected as a genuine all-rounder in Perth, or might have to be trusted to bowl bulk over later in the series, could be decided in the Sheffield Shield round this week. ★★★☆☆
Josh Hazlewood
The metronomic pace bowler is at the peak of his powers after carrying the white-ball attack and fine-tuning for the Ashes series during matches against India. The 34-year-old’s consistent line and length, and hint of movement whether off the seam or in the air, is sure to Test the tourists’ front foot approach to batting, with the enduring concern whether Hazlewood can play four or perhaps even five matches. ★★★★☆
Travis Head
The devastating batter is critical to Australia’s chances of taking the game up to England with his attacking intent and tendency to clobber huge scores as the stakes rise. A pair of centuries against India last summer, and the same the last time England toured for five Tests point to his talents, while the 31-year-old has a knack of finding a breakthrough wicket with his occasional but underrated off-spin. ★★★★★
Josh Inglis
The back-up wicketkeeper in the squad proved that he must also be considered as a specialist batter when pummelling a century at better than a run-a-ball on debut in Sri Lanka. The 30-year-old is most at home batting in the middle-order though he has shown while leading Australia in white-ball games that he has the versatility to come in higher up, which could suit a regular role as the concussion substitute. ★★☆☆☆
Usman Khawaja
The veteran keeps hanging on even amid calls for a changing of the guard at the top of the order after tightening his grip on the opening spot with a double ton in Sri Lanka earlier this year. But after being one of many batters unable to handle India’s Jasprit Bumrah last summer, the 38-year-old needs a strong start against England’s fast-bowling cartel in what could be his farewell Test series to ensure he can make the call himself on when to hang up the baggy green. ★★☆☆☆
Marnus Labuschagne
The former No 1-ranked Test batter has put a dismal run and the indignity of being dropped behind him to force his way back into the Australia squad – and surely the XI to play in Perth. Labuschagne’s blistering form with five centuries in his last eight innings could give the selectors the confidence to back him to open if needed alongside Khawaja, though the 31-year-old is more likely to worry England when batting at his preferred first-drop. ★★★★☆
Nathan Lyon
The off-spinner became as notable for his absence as his wicket-taking efforts after a calf injury in the second Ashes Test helped turn the series when Australia visited England in 2023. The 37-year-old did not have the home campaign he would have wanted against India with only nine wickets last summer but bounced back to be critical to Australia’s series sweeps in Sri Lanka and the Caribbean. ★★★☆☆
Steve Smith (captain)
The Australia batting great will step in to lead the side until Cummins returns to the XI but was already the most important player in their Ashes squad. The 36-year-old is unlikely to return to the highs of his most dominant period but is again the key wicket for any opposition attack after scoring two centuries against India last summer and adding back-to-back tons in Sri Lanka earlier this year. ★★★★★
Mitchell Starc
The left-armer is a durable bowler capable of playing all five Tests while also having the arsenal to make a fast start and blow away England on a hard deck in Perth and in the pink-ball clash that will follow. The 35-year-old shows few signs of slowing down and took a record-breaking 6-9 in his most recent Test against West Indies, while the tourists will need no reminder of how Starc can set the tone after he dismissed Rory Burns with the first ball in the series the last time England visited Australia. ★★★★★
Jake Weatherald
The aggressive opener is in line to make his international debut after building on years of promise to be the top run-scorer in the Sheffield Shield last season. The 31-year-old forced his way to the front of the queue by beginning the latest campaign with three half-centuries including a 94 for Tasmania. As one of two specialist openers in the squad, Weatherald likely only needs Green to prove he can be relied on to bowl for the left-handed batter to walk out alongside Khawaja in Perth. But it would be a surprise not to see him earn a debut against England this summer. ★★☆☆☆
Beau Webster
The versatile all-rounder – who can bowl medium pace or off-spin to add to his powerful middle-order batting – has hardly put a foot wrong in seven Tests since his international debut last summer. But the 31-year-old is one of the awkward pieces in Australia’s selection puzzle and could be pushed out of the XI if Green is fit enough to play as a genuine all-rounder. Whether he earns a spot in the side for first Test or later in the series, the reliable Webster can be backed to reinforce the middle order or claim a crucial wicket or two. ★★☆☆☆
