Uncapped opener Jake Weatherald has earned his maiden Test call-up, named in Australia’s squad for the first Ashes Test in Perth alongside Marnus Labuschagne.
Weatherald has been included in the squad after being the standout performer in the Sheffield Shield last season, where the left-handed batter amassed 906 runs in 18 innings for Tasmania at an average of 50.33.
The 31-year-old Tasmanian is in contention to open with Usman Khawaja, particularly with Sam Konstas being left out of the squad after a poor run in the Caribbean.
Explaining the decision to call up Weatherald, chief selector George Bailey said:
“If you look at his performances over the last 18 to 24 months, they’ve been really solid. There’s a method there that we like and that’s complementary to other players around him in the squad. He scores at a good rate, and the way he goes about building his innings has been impressive.”
Labuschagne has made his comeback after scoring five hundreds in eight innings for Queensland. His fellow Queenslander Matt Renshaw missed out despite showing promising signs against India in the ODI series.
Cameron Green and Beau Webster have been retained as the all-round options, with Mitchell Marsh not being considered for selection.
With Pat Cummins unavailable for the Perth Test, Scott Boland is most likely to play in his place, forming a pace trio with Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. If any of the frontline pace options are ruled out of the first Test, Australia can turn to either of their uncapped quicks, Sean Abbott or Brendan Doggett.
The first Test of the five-match series will be played at Optus Stadium.
Australia’s First Test squad: Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster.
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