The visiting side Australia is the first side to announce the squad for the upcoming Ashes series. They announced 17-member squad by naming Tim Paine as the skipper of the team. The major surprise is the inclusion of Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft.
They have ringed in quite a few surprises with a lot of changes to the side. Once again, Marcus Stoinis was unfortunate to miss out. However, to start with, they named the banned opener Cameron Bancroft as the option for Tim Paine alongside David Warner, Marcus Harris and Usman Khawaja as the opening options for the team.
Matthew Wade gets the nod:
The major surprise was the addition of Matthew Wade, who was called into the team during World Cup semifinal clash. The likes of Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne have also retained their places in the team.
The former keeper/batsman Wade has made the transition to the specialist batsman, making runs against everyone, everywhere in the last 21 months. Having said that, he’s been disappointing with the bat in recent Tests. With quality fast bowlers around, Wade might not get the opportunity, as Tim Paine is the skipper
James Pattinson added to the side:
The all-rounder Mitchell Marsh, who was removed from the team in the previous games got the nod for the Ashes series alongside the all-rounder Michael Neser. The lone spinner in the team is Nathan Lyon, who could get the support from Labuschagne if required.
The fast bowling department of Australia looks firing, as they called all their premium fast bowlers. Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins are joined to Peter Siddle and the young James Pattinson alongside the regular Josh Hazlewood.
Full Squad:
Tim Paine (c), Cameron Bancroft, Patrick Cummins, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner