The competition for spots in Australia’s Ashes squad just got even hotter due to a report yesterday the squad will not be named until five days before the Tests start, allowing time for players to audition for Australia A in England.
The last time Australia toured England for the Ashes they announced their 17-man squad a whopping 14 weeks before the first Test.
But yesterday Fox Sports broke the story that this time around Australia reportedly will not name their squad until July 27, with the first Test to start on August 1 in Edgbaston.
What this means is that, before picking their squad, the selectors will be able to audition players in three four-day matches in England in July. Australia ‘A’ will play Sussex from July 7-10, followed by a match against the England Lions from July 14-17 and then a fixture between Australia A and Australia from July 23-26.
Tim Paine of Australia leads his team out onto the field during day four of the First Test match in the series between Australia and India at Adelaide Oval on December 09, 2018 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
This gives serious leeway for players to either surge into the squad or fall out of contention given the short attention span the Australian selectors have been guilty of in the past.
A player who right now looks like a lock to play in the first Test could easily find themselves barely scraping into the squad if they struggle in those three matches.
Meanwhile, a cricketer who hardly even seems in contention to make the squad right now could vault out of nowhere into the starting XI if they run amok in those fixtures.
This situation will get even juicier, even wider open to surprises if Australia make the final of the ODI World Cup in England.
The World Cup final is on July 14 which would mean that most if not all of the members of Australia’s ODI squad would be ruled out of Australia A’s first two matches.
This would open up a lot of slots in the Australia A side for some serious bolters to press their Ashes cases. Australia will announce their World Cup squad on April 23 according to the Fox News report and there is only player likely to feature in the World Cup who won’t be in contention for the Ashes – Adam Zampa.
So if Australia do make the World Cup final that will leave at least a dozen Ashes contenders out of the first two Australia ‘A’ four-day matches in England creating golden opportunities for some Ashes dark horses.
There are already some obvious picks for that Australia A team like Test incumbents Marcus Harris, Joe Burns, Travis Head, Kurtis Patterson, Tim Paine and Marnus Labuschagne.
Fighting it out for the remaining Australia A berths, assuming the ODI players will be unavailable, will be the likes of Peter Siddle, Chris Tremain, Matt Wade, Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Marsh, Jackson Bird, Will Pucovski, Trent Copeland and Michael Neser.
It is entirely possible that any of those nine players I just listed could hoist themselves into the starting XI for the first Ashes Test if they dominate in the three Australia A matches.
The selectors have shown they like to pick on current form so commanding displays using the Dukes ball in English conditions will surely sway them.
Buckle up folks, the Ashes selection scenario just got a whole lot more complicated.
Deano
Guest
Consider this coming back to you!!!
Deano
Guest
Do you have any idea how stupid that comment is? Seriously; check your stats before making uninformed, wrong and gratuitously nasty comments. And in terms of averages of young Australian batsmen at the start of their Test careers, have a look at Steve Waugh’s first 15 innings in Tests. Based on your views, he would never have played Test cricket and if he had, would have been dropped and never seen again after his first 5 Tests. How about giving these kids some support, aided by facts rather than rubbish, nasty opinions?
Peter Warrington
Guest
Handscomb out reportedy :(
Stumpy
Guest
I wouldn’t be surprised if the selectors did find some reason to drop him, given their past ‘form’ and the return of Smith to the lineup
Simoc
Guest
Probably because he's been injured over and over and is way overrated anyway. Its his last chance over there but Siddle has the numbers to get picked ahead of him every time.
jameswm
Roar Guru
I don’t disagree Ronan. Fat chance though. I think Richardson is better than Siddle though.
jameswm
Roar Guru
Yeah forgot Pattinson. He and Tremain and J Richardson should be fighting for the next fast bowler spot. Apologies to Siddle and Bird.
Peter Warrington
Guest
absolutely but Patterson's form in the Shield was even worse than Harris' brainfades in the tests Langer loves him but he loves Bangers too. I fully expect to see both and S Marsh in the squad. Just not sure who they are going to injure, and how?
dungerBob
Roar Rookie
Siddle’s performance overnight just underlines his value in English conditions. https://www.theroar.com.au/cricket/video/peter-siddle-gets-the-ball-talking-in-county-cricket-return-748188/
AREH
Roar Guru
Meanwhile 36 from Matt Renshaw for Kent (div 1) and 33 for new Durham skipper Cam Bancroft (div 2) - which came after 159 balls - he loves to bat time. Glenn Maxwell yet to bat for Lancashire.
Timmuh
Roar Guru
Burns at five, Head at six seems unlikely but is my starting point - form dependent.
Paul
Roar Guru
Harris hurt himself badly with his lack of performances with the bat against Sri Lanka compared to Patterson, Peter. The big difference was that Test century Patterson scored. He should be included in the squad IMO, but would need help to actually crack the Test XI, now Warner and Smith are back.
Paul
Roar Guru
fair enough but 4 for 433 with two other guys scoring hundreds seems to indicate he was probably batting on a road. Still, runs are runs and he's only helping himself in the eyes of the selectors. I wonder how that stacks up against Bancrofts 33 out of 210 off 159 deliveries?
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Come back to us when he has scored five tons or so. That might start to compensate for an awful Shield record.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Which would be a triumph of desperation over experience!
DingoGray
Roar Guru
Totally agree Ronan.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
1-36 from 20 overs is a fantastic return from Maxwell as a 5th bowler. He's such an underutilised bowler in all three formats.
jeznez
Roar Guru
I thought I’d missed something major! Thanks for clarifying.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
Agreed Bob I think CA have really done well with the preparation for this Ashes tour, particularly when you consider the disruption to the lead up provided by the World Cup. But the end of that third Australia A match when the selectors sit down to pick the Ashes squad they should have a clear picture of who is ready to play in the 1st Test.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
Labuschagne's ton overnight might have been in county Div. 2 but it did come against Windies captain Jason Holder who is in blazing form having averaged 21 with the ball in his last 15 Tests.