After demolishing Sri Lanka at home, here's how Australia's Ashes squad is shaping up

The next time Australia walk onto a cricket field for a Test match, it’ll be for the opening Ashes encounter on August 1 in Birmingham.

There’s still half a Sheffield Shield season, an Australia A tour of England, some County Cricket and, of course, an entire World Cup between now and then, but the fact remains the best part of Australia’s six-month lead-up to the Ashes will be devoid of five-day cricket.

»The Ashes Squads

So with the side’s last Test before Edgbaston out of the way, how is the squad shaping up for the tour of the UK?

The certainties

Tim Paine
Paine would have loved to notch some more runs against Sri Lanka; his first-class century drought still extends all the way back to 2006. But he’s led the team well through one of the trickiest periods in Australian Test history, and his glovework remains superb.

He’ll be captaining the side on August 1.

Pat Cummins
There’s no doubt Cummins is Australia’s best player at the moment. After being the pick of the quicks against India, the New South Welshman tore through Sri Lanka with 14 wickets at an average of just over seven.

Add in his solid – and improving – batting and recent elevation to the co-vice-captaincy, and you’ve got another automatic selection for the Ashes opener.

(AAP Image/Julian Smith)

Nathan Lyon
Lyon mightn’t have picked up a stack of wickets against Sri Lanka, but given Cummins’ performance on the seam-friendly Gabba pitch in the first Test and the lack of spin in the second, that’s no great surprise.

He still chipped in with valuable scalps, he still remains Australia’s best spinner by the length of the straight, and he still will be one of the first names on the teamsheet come August 1.

Travis Head
Justly criticised for throwing away too many good starts against India, Head responded well with a series-high 304 runs against Sri Lanka, including a maiden Test century in Canberra. Can’t see him not being in the XI for Edgbaston.

(Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Mitchell Starc
Cheap wickets against a poor Test nation, or a frightening return to form for Starc? It probably doesn’t matter – the left-armer’s bag of ten at Manuka Oval was a timely reminder of the damage he can wreak, even on lifeless pitches.

Given how prickly his teammates and coaching staff have been in defending his form, it’s a safe assumption that this performance will be enough to see him all the way to the Ashes, injury permitting of course.

The very-likelies

Steve Smith
He’ll almost certainly be there, but I’ll hold off on marking Smith’s name on the teamsheet for now. There’s an abundance of question marks over him: can he walk back into the international arena in the same form he left it? Will he be able to handle the frosty reception he’ll no doubt receive in England? What happens if he has a bad World Cup? Is his elbow injury going to heal in time?

Ultimately, Australia have sorely missed Smith’s prowess with the bat over the past year, and he’ll be in the side if fit, even if the World Cup is a lacklustre return to top-level cricket.

(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

David Warner
All the same questions asked of Smith hover over David Warner too, plus another one or two about his place in the team from a cultural point of view. He helped himself by staying quiet earlier in the summer while Smith and Cameron Bancroft were in the headlines, though, and will surely line up at the top of the order in England.

Usman Khawaja
Khawaja’s ton at Manuka – his first since that superb knock in the UAE last year – has been subjected to a serious case of “Yeah, but it was…”, but I’d not be surprised if the mental achievement of reaching three figures again is far more important than anything else here.

Given the well-publicised arrest of his older brother, and the disrupted lead-in to the summer on account of a meniscus injury, is it any surprise Khawaja has struggled recently?

He remains Australia’s best batsman outside Smith and Warner, and should be in the XI for Edgbaston.

Joe Burns
In any other country, you’d think the best-performing first-class batsman in domestic cricket who also happens to have four centuries from 16 Tests to his name would be a sure-fire selection, particularly coming off a mammoth score of 180.

But Burns has been dropped as many times as he’s tonned up, so there’s no guarantee he’s a lock for Australia’s next Test. A drop in form or some compelling performances from Matthew Renshaw or Marcus Harris could see the Queenslander forced from the side. Still, he’s a frontrunner at the moment.

(Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Josh Hazlewood
A strange summer for Hazlewood, who was below his metronomic best against India before missing the Sri Lankan series through injury. If fit, you’d assume he’ll be a shoo-in for the Ashes, given how well his line-and-length approach is suited to English pitches. But…

The maybes

Jhye Richardson
Richardson’s excellent debut performance – which was somehow subject to far fewer disclaimers about the pitch and quality of the opposition than, say, Khawaja’s hundred – has thrown a spanner in the works when it comes to selecting the Australian attack.

Still, six wickets in two Tests on home soil against a poor opposition do not an automatic selection make, and you’d imagine the four bowlers picked for Edgbaston will likely be the same quartet which lined up against India last year. Still, if Richardson impresses in the next six months, he could force his way into the XI.

(AAP Image/Darren England)

Marcus Harris
Touted as one of the few locks for the Ashes before the two Tests against Sri Lanka, Harris did himself no favours with three poor dismissals, all of which he could have opted to leave instead of playing away from his body.

That kind of technique will be exposed in England, and the Victorian now needs some good first-class returns to jump back ahead of Joe Burns in the pecking order.

Kurtis Patterson
Patterson will go to England, of that there can surely be no doubt. But having only played two innings against Sri Lanka – impressive as they were – he’ll need to keep up his good form for the next six months to keep his place in the side.

(Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

Matthew Renshaw
Renshaw looms as perhaps the biggest enigma ahead of the Ashes. His 2018 County season was superb, with 513 runs from six first-class matches, but his returns since then have been far poorer. Still, with last year’s performances in England on his resume, some substantial innings in the next few months will have him on the plane to the UK.

Peter Siddle
Jhye Richardson has leapt ahead of Siddle in the race for an Ashes gig, but the Victorian seamer will still almost certainly be in the squad thanks to his experience in English conditions and ability to find a nagging length, and might play a Test or two during the series.

(Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)

The long-shots

Marnus Labuschagne
Having failed twice with the bat in Canberra when runs were there for the taking, it’s hard to see how Labuschagne can get a spot in the Test XI if Warner and Smith both come straight back into the side. Still, he did cop an unplayable ball in the first innings and clearly is a favourite in the current set-up.

Will Pucovski
No one copped a rawer deal through the decision to name the squad to play Sri Lanka so early than Pucovski, who went from staring down a likely Test debut to leaving the squad to manage another bout of mental illness.

First of all, a note of congratulations to Pucovski for having the courage to publicise his current struggles; he clearly has the talent and technique to play for Australia, but getting his health sorted is a more important consideration. If he can do that, then he’s an attractive prospect to take to England, but the selectors will no doubt be doubly cautious about bringing him on a long tour.

(Photo: Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Chris Tremain
Having been overlooked for Richardson following Josh Hazlewood’s injury, it’s hard to see Chris Tremain getting a run for the Ashes. Still, he’d no doubt do a fine job if given the chance.

Glenn Maxwell
Maxwell won’t have much – if any – red-ball cricket between now and August thanks to the World Cup, but selectors have shown in the past that they aren’t averse to picking Test squads on white-ball form. Maxwell’s all-round qualities will help him, although the squad for the Canberra Test would indicate he’s less preferred to…

Marcus Stoinis
Stoinis faces the same issues as Maxwell vis-a-vis lack of first-class cricket and forcing his way into the Ashes squad with some good performances in the World Cup. But being picked in the squad for the second Test against Sri Lanka indicates he’s got the inside running if selectors decide to bring an all-rounder with them to England – which you’d think they will.

(Photo by Jono Searle – CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images)

Matthew Wade
Smith and Warner’s return, and Head, Burns and Patterson’s centuries, will make it nigh-on impossible for Wade to be picked as a specialist batsman. Still, he’s in outstanding form with the bat, his glovework has improved in recent years, and he should be the squad’s back-up wicketkeeper.

Peter Handscomb
Handscomb’s lack of runs against India and unorthodox technique make him an unlikely selection. Given how he was targeted by England in the last Ashes in Australia, you can’t imagine the Old Enemy would be too upset if he does find his way onto the tour.

Aaron Finch
Similarly, Finch’s Test career is unlikely to be revived in time for the Ashes. Given the amount of limited-overs cricket between now and August, Finch won’t have the opportunity to show his red-ball credentials. To be fair, it’s in the best interests of Australian cricket right now that he focuses on the white ball with the World Cup looming.

Australia’s Ashes XI if it was picked today

1. Joe Burns
2. David Warner
3. Usman Khawaja
4. Steve Smith
5. Travis Head
6. Kurtis Patterson
7. Tim Paine (c, wk)
8. Pat Cummins
9. Mitchell Starc
10. Nathan Lyon
11. Josh Hazlewood

12. Jhye Richardson