For many Australian cricketers, the Ashes is the pinnacle.
Whether it be Shane Warne’s Ball of the Century at Old Trafford, Steve Waugh’s last-ball ton at the SCG or Steve Smith’s dream return in Edgbaston, Australian cricketers are remembered most fondly for what they achieved against the old enemy.
Australia embarks on their next Ashes campaign this winter, looking to retain the coveted urn for a fourth-consecutive time — England has not won a Test series against Australia since 2015, going down 4-0 during their most recent encounter.
However, England has revolutionised their approach to Test cricket over the past 12 months, with the team undergoing a drastic overhaul under the guidance of coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes.
Australia’s world-class bowling attack coming up against “BazBall” this winter is a mouth-watering prospect for any cricket fan.
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Australia’s squad will inevitably look different from last month’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India. Although the starting XI is pretty settled, several bolters are looking to squeeze into the extended squad over the coming months through the County Championship and Australia A’s tour of New Zealand.
LOCKS
Despite a recent dip in form, David Warner looks set to open the batting in England this winter, with the veteran opener eager to silence his vocal critics.
The left-hander scored five fifties during the 2015 Ashes campaign, becoming the first Australian opener to achieve the feat in England since 1972, but couldn’t replicate that form during his most recent Ashes tour, accumulating 95 runs in 10 innings at a horrific average of 9.50 — the worst batting performance by an Australian opener in Ashes history.
“The bowlers can get on top over in England with the new ball. It seams around; it can be tough for opening batters,” Australian captain Pat Cummins told foxsports.com.au last week.
“But openers who can put pressure back on the bowlers, they’re priceless. I know as a bowler, if someone’s a sitting duck, you feel like you’re going to get them eventually. If someone’s kind of taking the game to you, it presents a different challenge. That’s been the hallmark of Davey’s career.
“Over there in England, that’s what you’d want out of him, putting that pressure back on the bowlers.”
Warner will open alongside Usman Khawaja, the reigning recipient of the Shane Warne Men’s Test Player of the Year award, who has been in scintillating form since returning to the Test side last year, scoring 1608 runs at 69.91 in 16 Tests.
However, the 36-year-old has previously struggled with the bat on English soil, averaging 19.66 in six Ashes Tests.
Marnus Labuschagne will also return to England this winter, where he infamously served as a concussion substitute for Steve Smith in 2019, helping Australia rescue the Lord’s Test.
During that tour, the Queenslander scored 353 runs at 50.42 to cement his status as Australia’s long-term No. 3 — but the 28-year-old is still searching for his maiden Test century in England.
The hosts will be sweating on the form of Steve Smith, who dominated the 2019 Ashes series with 774 runs at 110.57 in four Tests.
The Australian vice-captain was below his best in the subcontinent last month, failing to register a half-century in four matches, but Smith’s Ashes record rivals the all-time greats.
After a brief stint opening in India last month, Travis Head is expected to return to his preferred spot at No. 5 for the Ashes and World Test Championship final.
The South Australian didn’t contribute much in the 2019 Ashes, dropped ahead of the series finale at The Oval after scoring 191 runs at 27.28 in four matches — the left-hander is still searching for his maiden Test century away from home.
“He’s been probably the best No. 5 batter in the world over the last couple of years, which is a tough spot in itself,” Cummins said.
Rounding out the middle order is young all-rounder Cameron Green, a standout performer for Australia during last summer’s triumphant Ashes series at home.
“He’s such an important cog in our team,” Cummins said.
“It’s all right there in front of him. He’s got all the physical attributes. He shows he can bat in any conditions, he can bat a long time. He’s bowling 140 with bounce and swing.
“It’s an impressive package.”
Alex Carey, who impressed with the gloves in India last month, remains Australia’s first-choice wicketkeeper in the game’s longest format — he has seemingly improved behind the stumps with every appearance in Test whites.
Australia’s experienced pace trio of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood will each be on the plane to England — but don’t expect them to play every Test. In 2019, the tourists effectively rotated their seamers, and this year’s packed schedule means Australia will almost certainly employ a similar strategy.
Starc only played one Ashes Test in 2019, and the left-armer will be eager to make amends this winter. Meanwhile, Cummins has been the leading wicket-taker from each of Australia’s three most recent Ashes campaigns.
Rounding out the starting XI is veteran tweaker Nathan Lyon, who embarks on his eighth Ashes campaign. The off-spinner boasts a decent Test record in England, taking 45 wickets at 31.62 since 2013, with one five-wicket haul.
Meanwhile, Victorian cult hero Scott Boland will almost certainly make an appearance in England this winter — his relentless accuracy and subtle seam movement will be a valuable weapon with the swinging Duke Ball.
The 33-year-old has taken 28 wickets at 13.42, the third-lowest bowling average in history, since his unforgettable Test debut at the MCG in 2021.
FIFTY-FIFTY CHANCE
Despite being showered with praise following his maiden Test series in India, Todd Murphy is at risk of missing out on a spot in Australia’s Ashes squad.
The tourists only picked one strike spinner for the 2019 Ashes campaign, which was dominated by pace bowlers, meaning Lyon could once again travel to England without an apprentice.
However, Cricket Australia blocked Murphy from signing a County Championship deal with Durham to manage the 22-year-old’s workload, suggesting the young tweaker is being wrapped in cotton wool ahead of the Ashes.
The bolter from Australia’s 2019 Ashes tour, Michael Neser will be hoping for another Test call-up after being named Player of the Sheffield Shield this season. The Queenslander claimed 40 wickets at 16.67 this summer, also contributing 357 handy runs with the bat.
Neser was omitted for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the New Year’s SCG Test against South Africa, but the 33-year-old’s bowling is undeniably suited for English conditions.
Peter Handscomb made his long-awaited Test return in India last month in a horses-for-courses selection that paid dividends, with the Victorian contributing valuable runs in the low-scoring Delhi contest.
But with Travis Head expected to slot back into the middle order this winter, there isn’t an apparent vacancy for Handscomb in Australia’s Test XI for the Ashes.
The 31-year-old will get an opportunity to push his case for selection in the County Championship, signing a deal with Leicestershire to play two months of the first-class competition in England.
Cameron Bancroft, who last represented Australia during the 2019 Ashes series, was the leading run-scorer from this summer’s Sheffield Shield with 945 runs at 59.06, including four centuries.
The right-handed opener will represent Somerset for the early stages of the County Championship, looking to force his way into the Test squad. If Warner’s form continues to dip, national selectors would be tempted to chuck in the 30-year-old/
“Cameron‘s been building to a season like this for a little while now,” West Australian coach Adam Voges said last week.
“Technically, I think he‘s in a much better space than he has been previously.
“I think you‘re always more ready the second time around. He’ll learn from the experiences and he’ll certainly be much better for it.
“He’s had a tremendous 12 months and I think he should be rewarded with a seat on the plane to England in the winter.”
Another fringe batter praying for an Ashes invite, Matthew Renshaw celebrated his first Test appearance in nearly five years this summer, but couldn’t make the most of the opportunity, registering scores of 5*, 0, 2 and 2.
The Queenslander was named in the Australia A squad to face New Zealand A across the Tasman next month, where a Duke ball will be used to replicate English conditions.
Australia traditionally flies a reserve wicketkeeper over to England for an Ashes series, but Tim Paine served as the lone gloveman in 2019. If the national selection panel decided that Carey needs an understudy this winter, West Australian wicketkeeper Josh Inglis is the obvious candidate.
Despite recent injury troubles, Mitchell Marsh remains Australia’s second-choice Test all-rounder, and would be the ideal replacement for Cameron Green if required.
Marsh made his most recent Test appearance during the 2019 Ashes series, taking a maiden five-wicket haul against England at The Oval.
Lance Morris, another West Australian Ashes hopeful, is still waiting for his Test debut after being rushed into the Australian squad earlier this summer.
The talented paceman, who can exceed 150km/h, enjoyed a breakout summer in the Sheffield Shield, taking 31 wickets at 19.96 in six matches, later named Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year.
BOLTERS
After bursting onto the scene during this summer’s Big Bash League, Spencer Johnson has been turning heads in the Sheffield Shield, claiming back-to-back five-wicket hauls for South Australia.
The left-armer took 6-87 against Victoria on first-class debut before snaring 7-47 against Queensland a couple of weeks later.
Former Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin called for Johnson, who was named in the Australia A squad earlier this month, to join the Ashes squad as Starc’s like-for-like replacement.
Despite making an impressive start to his Test career in India last month, spinner Matthew Kuhenmann will almost certainly miss out on Ashes selection purely because of conditions.
However, the Queenslander will look to push his case for Ashes selection in the County Championship this winter, recently penning a deal with Durham.
Talented all-rounder Aaron Hardie has been one of the country’s most consistent domestic cricketers over the past 18 months, helping the Western Australian win back-to-back Sheffield Shield titles.
But despite stellar form with the red ball, he’s unfortunately still behind Cameron Green and Mitchell Marsh in the pecking order.
Victoria’s Will Sutherland has enjoyed a breakout summer in the Sheffield Shield, finishing as the competition’s leading wicket-taker and snaring a five-wicket haul in last week’s final against Western Australia.
It comes after the 23-year-old, who this week won the Bill Lawry Medal for Victoria’s Sheffield Shield player of the season, smacked his maiden first-class century against South Australia and captained the state side in the absence of Peter Handscomb.
However, Sutherland’s Ashes dream has potentially been quashed by a back stress fracture, sidelining him for several months.
Marcus Harris, a somewhat forgotten name in Australian cricket, featured in the Test squad during the recent home summer against the West Indies and South Africa, but was dropped ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
The left-hander opened alongside David Warner during the 2019 Ashes, finishing the series with 58 runs at 9.66 in three Tests.
Still searching for his maiden Test century, Harris may have fallen out of favour with national selectors as Cameron Bancroft bashes down the door for a recall.
“The message (from the Australian selectors) was that different people are more versatile in different positions, which is fair enough,” Harris said last month.
“I just sort of said, ‘How do you become more versatile if you don’t get exposed to stuff?’
“My only question to the selectors was how do I become more versatile – I’m not going to bat at five or six for Victoria.”
Queensland paceman Mark Steketee and New South Wales seamer Sean Abbott continue to trouble batters in the Sheffield Shield, but are still waiting for a coveted baggy green despite both earning Test call-ups in recent years.
Steketee claimed 38 wickets at 18.86 this season, while Abbott has become a regular member of Australia’s white-ball squads — but both have unfortunately fallen down the pecking order.
Tasmania’s Tim Ward and Victoria’s Matthew Short have also been standouts at domestic level over the past couple of seasons, but neither have done enough to squeeze into the Ashes squad.
