Australia have named a 17-man squad for the World Test Championship Final against India and first two matches of Ashes 2023 in England. Allrounder Mitchell Marsh is back in the scheme of things in Test cricket for the first time in four years while selectors have also kept the pressure on under-fire opener David Warner by naming Marcus Harris and Matthew Renshaw in the group.
The WTC final starts from June 7 at The Oval and Australia will have to trim their squad to 15 players as per the ICC requirements by May 28.
Matthew Kuhnemann, Ashton Agar, Peter Handscomb and Mitchell Swepson were part of the India tour earlier this year but they have been dropped from the squad.
Josh Inglis has been named as a cover for wicketkeeper Alex Carey.
“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 skillsets,” chairman of selectors George Bailey said.
“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,” he added.
The Australia squad for the Ashes tour will be reassessed following the first two Tests.
“We like Matt Renshaw, think he provides good flexibility for us. We like the skillset he brings through the middle and we also know he can bat at the top,” Bailey said.
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (captain), Steve Smith (vice-captain), Mitchell Starc, David Warner, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw
