Australia squad named for The Ashes

[Saj]

The National Selection Panel has announced the following 17-man squad for the Qantas Ashes Tour of the United Kingdom:

Tim Paine (c) (Tasmania)
Cameron Bancroft (Western Australia)
Patrick Cummins (New South Wales)
Marcus Harris (Victoria)
Josh Hazlewood (New South Wales)
Travis Head (South Australia)
Usman Khawaja (Queensland)
Marnus Labuschagne (Queensland)
Nathan Lyon (New South Wales)
Mitchell Marsh (Western Australia)
Michael Neser (Queensland)
James Pattinson (Victoria)
Peter Siddle (Victoria)
Steven Smith (New South Wales)
Mitchell Starc (New South Wales)
Matthew Wade (Tasmania)
David Warner (New South Wales)

Chairman of Selectors Trevor Hohns said: “We are delighted to name this squad for the Qantas Ashes Tour.

“We have chosen 17 players as this gives us the cover and flexibility we believe we will need to ensure we are in good shape throughout a demanding schedule of five Test matches in just over six weeks.

“We believe the squad is an excellent blend of high-quality batsmen and top-class fast bowlers, plus Nathan Lyon, who we regard as the world’s best off-spinner in all conditions. It is a good mix of all the talents.

“We have had excellent preparations for this series, with eight players from this squad forming part of the Australia A tour that has been in the UK for more than a month, six who took part in the ICC Cricket World Cup, and three who have been playing county cricket. It means the players are acclimatised and ready for the first Test.

“David Warner, Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft have forced their way back in to the Test squad through the excellence of their recent performances. David and Steve also have the advantage of being proven players at Test level while Cameron has produced impressive numbers for county side Durham this season and his innings in the intra-squad match in Southampton on a tough pitch was outstanding and showed his quality.

“James Pattinson has demanded inclusion after impressing everyone on the Australia A tour with his pace and control, following on from a good season at home for Victoria, and he returns to the Test squad, as does Peter Siddle, who has been in fine form in county cricket for Essex.

“Josh Hazlewood comes back after missing the Sri Lanka Test series and the ICC Cricket World Cup as he recovered from a back injury and James, Peter and Josh, plus Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Michael Neser form a strong seam attack, with all-rounder Mitchell Marsh also returning to the squad after impressing with bat and ball on the Australia A tour.

“We have opted to select one frontline spinner in Nathan Lyon. We have faith in his ability, we know our strength lies in our pace attack and we have Marnus Labuschagne’s leg-spin as another spin option as he has bowled almost 200 overs for county side Glamorgan in first-class cricket this season.

“Matthew Wade fully deserves his recall as he has made an irresistible case for inclusion through sheer weight of runs with 1021 first-class runs at home last summer followed by three hundreds on the Australia A tour, including an excellent 114 against the England Lions at Canterbury last week.

“It has been a difficult task to reduce the 25-player squad here in Southampton down to 17 and those who have not made the final Ashes party are all desperately unlucky. However, that problem also highlights that we have a degree of depth to select from and that is a terrific positive.

“We have not won an Ashes series in the United Kingdom since 2001 but we are confident that this group of players can break that cycle and ensure we retain the urn that we won at home in the summer of 2017-18.”

The squad will travel to Birmingham on Saturday, 27 July and practice at Edgbaston ahead of the first Test at the venue starting on Thursday, 1 August.

Ashes schedule:
1 – 5 August – First Test, Edgbaston, Birmingham
7 – 9 August – Tour match, Worcester v Worcestershire
14 – 18 August – Second Test, Lord’s, London
22 – 26 August – Third Test, Headingley, Leeds
29 – 31 August – Tour match, Derby v Derbyshire
4 – 8 September – Fourth Test, Old Trafford, Manchester
12 – 16 September – Fifth Test, The Oval, London

 

[angrypathan]

Basically selects itself that squad. Don't see Neser getting a game unless there's an injury.

 

[Titan24]

Basically selects itself that squad. Don't see Neser getting a game unless there's an injury.

5 test matches in 6 weeks so you never know.

 

[MenInG]

David Warner limped out of Australia practice after suffering a bruised knee, just days before the start of the Ashes.

The 32-year-old was due to complete his comeback from a 12-month ban for his part in a ball-tampering scandal against South Africa back in March 2018.

Both Warner and team-mate Steve Smith, who was also involved in the incident, returned to the one-day team earlier in the year.

Warner was regarded as one of the most prolific players in Test cricket before his suspension, hitting 21 centuries at an average of almost 50 Test appearances.

The opening batsman was hurt when he inside-edged a ball on to his left knee during a net session, but Sky Sports News understand it is not thought to be too serious.

https://www.skysports.com/cricket/n...imps-out-of-australia-practice-ahead-of-ashes

 

[MenInG]

Take the game on.

That’s Ricky Ponting’s message ahead of the upcoming Ashes series for Usman Khawaja, who looms as a key pillar in Australia’s quest to retain the urn on English soil for the first time since the turn of the century.

Ponting is an unabashed fan of Australia’s incumbent number three, who is expected to overcome a hamstring problem that curtailed his World Cup campaign to take his place in the XI for the first Test at Edgbaston, starting on Thursday.

Khawaja has had a rollercoaster 12 months with bat in hand; an extraordinary Test innings in Dubai last October will be remembered as one of the greatest by an Australian in the modern era, while he also made an impressive return to the one-day side to play a key role in his country’s push to the World Cup semi-finals.

But it’s the home series against India last summer that Ponting believes can best instruct Khawaja’s plan for the Ashes, where he’ll be a key source of runs alongside returning duo Steve Smith and David Warner.

“He probably wasn’t at his best in that India series back at home,” Ponting told cricket.com.au recently of India’s 2-1 series win in which Khawaja, Australia’s senior batsman in a side gutted by suspension, averaged 28 in eight innings.

Khawaja has been trying to overcome a hamstring injury since the latter stages of the World Cup // Getty

“Talking to him about it, he probably went back into his shell a little bit.

“He knew how they were going to bowl, and he probably just didn't put enough pressure back on the bowlers. He sort of sat and tried to wait on them and they were just too good most of the time.

“I think when he's scoring quite freely, he's a much better player and that's going to be the challenge for him again here. The English quicks will have some pretty good plans for him and he's just got to take it on a little bit more and impose himself on the contest a little bit more.

“If he does that, I'm sure he’ll play well.”

A closer look at Khawaja’s numbers from that Indian campaign underline Ponting’s view. The left-hander’s strike rate for the series was just 33.44, the lowest of any batsmen to score more than 100 runs, and well down on his career mark of 50 runs per 100 balls. He faced 167 deliveries across two innings in the opening Test of the summer in Adelaide but managed just 36 runs in that time, setting the trend for the series as India’s world-class attack minimised the impact of Australia’s most experienced batsman.

But Khawaja’s form this year, including an unbeaten century against Sri Lanka in Canberra to finish the Test summer and that remarkable run of form against the white ball, has Ponting bullish that the 32-year-old can have a major impact on his second Ashes tour.

Khawaja celebrates his century against Sri Lanka in February // Getty

As long as he doesn’t go into his shell.

“I’ve not got enough good things to say about Usman as a player,” Ponting said. “I think he's a very classy player.

“I don't think anyone ever questions his technique when he's playing well. It’s just when he gets that little bit defensive … that his technique starts to be shown up a fraction.

“But when he's moving his feet and he's out hitting the ball, I think his technique is really good.

“I know he's got most of his runs in Australia (but) that breakthrough couple of Tests he had against Pakistan in the UAE (last October), that showed a lot of class. If there was ever a question over him, it was a question (about) playing against spin bowling. So he's changed and rectified that.

“Now he’s got to find a way to score runs in tough conditions here in England, but I'm pretty confident he can do it.”

2019 Qantas Ashes Tour of England

Australia squad: Tim Paine (c), Cameron Bancroft, Pat Cummins, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner.

England squad: Joe Root (c), Moeen Ali, Jimmy Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes (vc), Olly Stone, Chris Woakes.

First Test: August 1-5, Edgbaston

Tour match: Australians v Worcestershire, August 7-9

Second Test: August 14-18,Lord's

Third Test: August 22-26, Headingley

Tour match: Australians v Derbyshire, August 29-31

Fourth Test: September 4-8, Old Trafford

Fifth Test: September 12-16, The Oval

https://www.cricket.com.au/news/ric...-injury-edgbaston-ashes-first-test/2019-07-29

 

[Hasan123]

Would not be shocked if Peter Siddle starts the first test. He has a lot of experience in English conditions. Also Starc has not been great in tests . Hazelwood is coming off a long lay off.

 

[barah_admi]

The National Selection Panel has announced the following 17-man squad for the Qantas Ashes Tour of the United Kingdom:

Tim Paine (c) (Tasmania)
Cameron Bancroft (Western Australia)
Patrick Cummins (New South Wales)
Marcus Harris (Victoria)
Josh Hazlewood (New South Wales)
Travis Head (South Australia)
Usman Khawaja (Queensland)
Marnus Labuschagne (Queensland)
Nathan Lyon (New South Wales)
Mitchell Marsh (Western Australia)
Michael Neser (Queensland)
James Pattinson (Victoria)
Peter Siddle (Victoria)
Steven Smith (New South Wales)
Mitchell Starc (New South Wales)
Matthew Wade (Tasmania)
David Warner (New South Wales)

I think the starting XI, if all fit, really picks itself -

1. Warner
2. Bancroft
3. Khawaja
4. Smith
5. Marsh
6. Head
7. Paine wk/c
8. Starc
9. Hazlewood
10. Lyon
11. Cummins

 

[sweep_shot]

How is Paine still in the team? Wade should be the Test keeper.

Not a bad squad. But, I expect England to win the Ashes.

 

[sindhiboy]

english top order is too brittle. expect aussie quicks to run them over. aussie top order in contrast is very powerful

australia have seen enough of broad and anderson, should be able to sort them out.

having said that, i think eng will find a way to be competitive by using the conditions to full effect

 

[silentkiller187]

How is Paine still in the team? Wade should be the Test keeper.

Not a bad squad. But, I expect England to win the Ashes.

He’s only in the team because he is the captain, give it a few games smith or Warner will replace him if they have a good ashes

 

[MenInG]

Australia head coach Justin Langer has indicated that Pat Cummins, the top ranked bowler in the MRF Tyres ICC Men's Test Rankings, could be rested for parts of the ongoing Ashes series in England.

Australia are currently leading the five-Test showdown 1-0, and Cummins had a significant part to play in their remarkable come-from-behind win at Edgbaston, snaring four second-innings wickets – and seven in the match – to wipe out England for 146 and send them crashing to a 251-run defeat.

However, in the face of increased scrutiny around workload management, and a horses-for-courses selection policy, Cummins might have to do with occupying the bench at some point, irrespective of the magnitude of his performances.

Over the last couple of years, the fast bowler has put behind a brittle, injury-prone body to transform into a relentless bowling machine for Australia. Since January 2017, he has been the team’s most workmanlike pacer, playing 20 Tests – more than any other frontline Australian fast bowler in this period – and has sent down 734 overs, 47 more than second-best Josh Hazlewood.

Langer said that he would like to see the 26-year-old play all five Tests, but acknowledged that it simply may not be feasible. "In theory, you would like him to play all five Tests," Langer said at Lord's on Sunday, 11 August. "Those back-to-back Test matches depends a lot on how much he bowls.

“He bowled the most overs [among Australia’s fast bowlers] in the first Test, but depends on how the game goes and how many overs he bowls, on how much batting there is in between [bowling innings], whether we've bowled last or we've bowled in the third innings of the game. All those things will come into it. You'd like him to play all five, but I am not sure it's humanly possible."

Should injury strike Cummins, however, Australia have plenty of depth to fall back on. So strong is their pool of resources that Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, two of their premier red-ball bowlers, did not make the XI at Edgbaston.

Starc is likely to return at Lord’s, but with a core also possessing the reinvigorated James Pattinson and veteran Peter Siddle, who is coming off a successful County season, Australia wouldn’t be sweating much in the event that Cummins is forced to miss a Test or two.

You'd like him to play all five, but I am not sure it's humanly possible
Justin Langer

"You also have Josh Hazlewood, who has played 40-odd Tests and is a gun, and Mitch Starc, who took 10 wickets in his last Test match,” Langer said. "They're all there and we've talked about having the squad of fast bowlers."

As for Cummins himself, the pacer, who prides himself on his ability to tirelessly run in and bowl long spells, made no qualms about the fact that he would like to go the distance and play all five games.

"I think everyone would like to play all five," he said. "I think it's one of those things, where it's just great that we've got that flexibility, so I think every game you're going to pick your best three bowlers you think are going to win that match.

"I guess we're lucky we've got six guys here who are a real chance of playing every game. Personally, I'll be hoping to play every game, and if I'm fully fit and bowling well, I expect to. But it's good we've got plenty of bowlers here."

https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/1310111