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Uncertainty surrounding the Aussie team for the first Ashes Test may well be cleared up by Australia A’s match against England in just over two weeks.
But which players should get the opportunity to push their case for Test selection in this match?
The four-day encounter at Hobart starting on November 6 coincides with the second round of the Sheffield Shield competition.
Two positions in the Test side are up for grabs. The selectors must identify a middle order batsman and a quick to take the new ball with Ryan Harris in the Ashes opener.
David Warner’s grip on his opening position was tenuous after horrid tours of England and India, which have seen him average 24 in his past seven Tests.
However by striking three commanding tons in the space of a week in the Ryobi Cup, he likely will have allayed any fears the selectors harboured about his touch.
This would be my Australia A side:
1. Mark Cosgrove
2. Jordan Silk
3. Alex Doolan
4. Usman Khawaja
5. George Bailey (capt.)
6. Nic Maddinson
7. Tim Paine
8. Ashton Agar
9. Mitchell Johnson
10. Ben Hilfenhaus
11. Jackson Bird
Tasmanian Cosgrove has bolted into Ashes calculations after reportedly losing 16kg in the off season.
Since relocating from South Australia, he has shown his versatility by transforming from an audacious middle-order stroke maker to a far more circumspect opener.
He has also demonstrated his ability to make tough runs on the bowler-friendly deck at Bellerive Oval.
Due to Warner’s resurgence of form, Cosgrove now appears to be competing with Bailey, Khawaja, Maddinson, Doolan, Phil Hughes and Shaun Marsh for the vacant middle order role.
His State teammate Jordan Silk would be my choice as his opening partner in this match.
A composed and patient accumulator of runs, Silk, 21, is the young Australian batsman seemingly best equipped for success in first-class cricket.
Having played only five first-class matches, he should be left to develop at State level.
This match should be used to offer him valuable experience against a quality international attack, rather than as an opportunity to press for an Ashes berth.
Maddinson should be viewed in the same light. He appears too green and should not be considered for Test cricket until he develops a better balance between attack and defence.
However, I would like to see how he would handle this standard of competition.
Khawaja, meanwhile, acquitted himself well against the quicks in England, scoring 60 runs for just one dismissal against James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan.
The Queenslander is a gifted player of pace, which will be England’s main weapon in this series given the way in which the Australia conditions will hamper off spinner Graeme Swann, who troubled Khawaja in the recent series.
Doolan’s impressive efforts in the Shield last summer should also earn him a crack at the Poms in this warm up match.
The Tasmanian is an elegant, technically-correct batsman, who is well suited to the longest form of the game.
His Tigers teammate Bailey, who is quickly becoming a polarising figure, has gone some way to making amends for his awful Shield season last summer by dominating in One day Internationals for Australia.
It should be remembered that prior to debuting in ODIs, Bailey was an ordinary 50-over player, averaging in the low 30s at State level.
He has since displayed the invaluable capacity to take his game to another level once exposed to international cricket.
The most pertinent question is could he replicate that feat in Tests?
The obvious omission from my batting line-up is Phil Hughes.
At just 24 years old, with 21 first-class centuries to his name, Hughes may still become a valuable Test player for Australia.
However, he currently has significant flaws in his approaches to combating both spin and pace, which must be addressed before he is provided any further opportunities in the baggy green.
Tim Paine gets the nod as wicket keeper ahead of Chris Hartley in a tight decision. Either player would be worthy of the spot.
The fact Paine, at two-and-a-half years younger, can still potentially play for five or six years earns him the position ahead of 31-year-old Hartley.
The role of taking the new ball with Harris at the Gabba should be decided in a shootout between Jackson Bird, Mitchell Johnson and Ben Hilfenhaus.
Johnson is too erratic and mentally-fragile for my liking but, regardless, seems to be a very strong candidate to play at Brisbane.
For that reason I would like him to be tested first against England’s accomplished and experienced batting line-up.
Bird or Hilfenhaus would be my favoured options to partner Harris due to their ability to take advantage of the typically swing-friendly conditions at the Gabba.
The former had a poor tour of England, due to his inability to curve the Dukes ball. But his capacity to swing the Kookaburra is not in doubt.
Hilfenhaus, meanwhile, has seemingly been forgotten by the Aussie selectors after a stellar comeback to Test cricket in 2011 and 2012.
With 99 Test wickets at an average of 28, his pedigree earns him a crack at an Ashes berth.