All-rounder Mitch Marsh has earned a call-up to Australia’s Ashes squad as cover for Cameron Green as Marcus Harris and Matt Renshaw also booked their spot on the plane to the UK.
Cricket Australia announced a 17-man squad on Wednesday morning, with the biggest selection surprise coming in the form of Michael Neser’s omission and Lance Morris’s exclusion due to injury.
As forecast by the Herald on Tuesday, selectors were poised to pick Marsh for the tour given his ability with bat and ball.
If Green was to go down with an injury, Marsh is the obvious replacement given he can bat at No.6 and provide extra overs alongside Australia’s regular pace trio.
Marsh is back bowling after an ankle injury and will be hoping to feature in his first Test since the final match of the 2019 Ashes series.
Australia’s first assignment on their UK tour is the World Test Championship final against India, which starts on June 7.
Australia’s Ashes squad
- Pat Cummins (NSW/Penrith Cricket Club) (c)
- Scott Boland (VIC/Frankston Peninsula Cricket Club)
- Alex Carey (SA/Glenelg Cricket Club)
- Cameron Green (WA/Subiaco-Floreat Cricket Club)
- Marcus Harris (VIC/St Kilda Cricket Club)
- Josh Hazlewood (NSW/St George Cricket Club)
- Travis Head (SA/Tea Tree Gully Cricket Club)
- Josh Inglis (WA/Joondalup Cricket Club)
- Usman Khawaja (QLD/Valley District Cricket Club)
- Marnus Labuschagne (QLD/Redlands Cricket Club)
- Nathan Lyon (NSW/Northern District Cricket Club)
- Mitchell Marsh (WA/Fremantle Cricket Club)
- Todd Murphy (VIC/St Kilda Cricket Club)
- Matthew Renshaw ((QLD/Toombul District CC)
- Steve Smith (NSW/Sutherland Cricket Club) (vc)
- Mitchell Starc (NSW/Manly Warringah Cricket Club)
- David Warner (NSW/Randwick Petersham Cricket Club)
Then it’s five Tests against England — with no tour matches in between — from June 16 through to August 1.
A 15-player squad for the ICC World Test Championship will be named on May 28.
As expected, David Warner has been included in Australia’s Ashes squad and will fight to save his career after a lean run of scores.
Harris, who was recently awarded a CA contract, is being taken as a spare batsman, while Renshaw has also done enough to remain in the Australian set-up after a horror tour of India.
Mitch Marsh, David Warner and Matt Renshaw have all booked their tickets to the UK.Credit: Getty
Renshaw made just four runs from three innings on the subcontinent but has plundered hundreds in consecutive Australia A matches against New Zealand A at the top of the order.
There was no room in the squad for Cameron Bancroft, who made 945 runs at 59.06 in the recent Sheffield Shield season.
On the fast bowling front, skipper Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc will return to the UK, as will Scott Boland.
But the non-selection of Neser will raise some eyebrows, given some believe he would be a handful in English conditions.
CA said in a statement that Morris has suffered an injury and was not considered for selection.
Ashton Agar, Peter Handscomb, Mitchell Swepson and Matt Kuhnemann all missed selection, having been involved with the group in India.
“The World Test Championship is the culmination of more than two years of consistent performance at Test level by the team and the individuals involved, leading into an Ashes series which is always highly anticipated,” said Australia’s chair of selectors George Bailey.
“The UK is a very different assignment from our most recent tour of India and some of the changes are based upon the conditions we are anticipating.
“Marcus, Josh and Mitch return to the squad and provide valuable depth and flexibility within their respective skill-sets. We see value in revisiting the squad following the second Ashes Test given the short turnaround between the WTC final and the first Ashes Test, along with the length of the tour.”
More to come
Sports news, results and expert commentary. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.
