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We asked, and you answered. Today, we reveal the XI picked by Roarers far and wide for the first Ashes Test, which will get underway at Edgbaston on Thursday.
While the squad of 17 was picked by the selectors on Friday following the intra-squad warm-up match last week, the XI is still well and truly up in the air, although, with the exception of a couple of spots, the general consensus seems to be pretty consistent across hundreds of armchair selectors.
Steve Smith was the most heavily selected player for the XI, coming in with 99.1 per cent of the vote, while Pat Cummins, David Warner, Nathan Lyon and Tim Paine all had more than 95 per cent.
Smith and Warner are almost certainties to play their first Test in over a year, while Paine is the skipper, and the spots for Cummins and Lyon seem guaranteed.
Travis Head was next at 83.5 per cent, while James Pattinson, Usman Khawaja and Cameron Bancroft were all above 70 per cent of selections.
Mitchell Marsh was at the bottom of the field with just 11 per cent of the vote, while Michael Neser was only just above him.
Here is the full list as to how you voted.
1. Steve Smith (99.1%)
2. Pat Cummins (98.3%)
3. David Warner (98%)
4. Nathan Lyon (96.8%)
5. Tim Paine (95.1%)
6. Travis Head (83.5%)
7. James Pattinson (82.1%)
8. Usman Khawaja (77.2%)
9. Cameron Bancroft (70.5%)
10. Matthew Wade (62.4%)
11. Marnus Labuschagne (49.7%)
12. Mitchell Starc (45.4%)
13. Peter Siddle (41.9%)
14. Marcus Harris (40.5%)
15. Josh Hazlewood (35%)
16. Michael Neser (13%)
17. Mitchell Marsh (11.6%)
(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Moulding a realistic XI forced us to make one change to the top 11 players above, bringing in Mitchell Starc as the third quick to replace Marnus Labuschagne, who had the weakest vote of the batsmen contending for the top six.
That means the most contentious place in the side, number six, features Matthew Wade, while Starc squeaks into the side ahead of Peter Siddle, with Josh Hazlewood’s vote well and truly down the pecking orde. The incumbent quick loses his place in the side to James Pattinson.
In working the rest of the XI, the players virtually put themselves into their positions – warner and Bancroft at the top of the tree, Khawaja, Smith, Head and Wade the middle order, with Paine at seven followed by the bowlers.
If Khawaja is injured for the first Test (remember, he is still trying to recover from a hamstring injury he sustained in the first Test), then he is likely to be replaced by Marcus Harris, the other top-order option in the side.
Of course, the other option would be to shift Steve Smith or Wade to three, or play Labuschagne at three, but they seem somewhat unlikely.
1. David Warner
2. Cameron Bancroft
3. Usman Khawaja
4. Steve Smith
5. Travis Head
6. Matthew Wade
7. Tim Paine (c, wk)
8. Pat Cummins
9. Mitchell Starc
10. James Pattinson
11. Nathan Lyon
Do you agree with our side? Is this what you picked? Let us know in the comments below.