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Australia’s 15-man squad for the first Ashes Test at Perth has done little to quieten the theory that their greatest vulnerability is at the top of the order.
The selection of the uncapped Tasmanian opener Jake Weatherald, who turned 31 on Tuesday, is reward for a solid 14 months for both his state side and Australia A. But the days of Australia whistling up a reserve batsman with a career average nudging 50 are long gone.
The left-handed Weatherald, who wears an earring and isn’t afraid to give it a crack, has 5,269 first-class runs at 37 – a solid record, but not one that will frighten England. George Bailey, Australia’s chairman of selectors and a former irritant of England, might even have had Bazball in mind when he summed up Weatherald’s qualities: ‘He just happens to score at four runs an over, and has some natural attacking strengths without being cavalier with that.’
Assuming Weatherald makes his international debut at the Optus Stadium on November 21, he will walk out alongside Usman Khawaja, who turns 39 next month and faces scrutiny over his ability against the quickest bowlers.
Since making 90 against Pakistan at Perth two years ago, Khawaja – who is expected to recover in time from a groin niggle – has scored a double-century in slow, low conditions against Sri Lanka in Galle but otherwise managed only two fifties in 32 other Test innings.
As he showed during the 2023 Ashes, his stickability can be crucial: his scores of 141 and 65 in the first Test at Edgbaston (from a combined 518 balls) played a key role in Australia’s retention of the urn.
Jake Weatherald - uncapped at 31 with a first-class average of 37 - is one of the leading contenders to open after Sam Konstas was dropped
Usman Khawaja frustrated England at times but is about to turn 39 and his powers are waning
Jofra Archer - as he showed when he blew away Rishabh Pant's off-stump at Lord's this summer - will be delighted by the number of left-handers in Australia's top order
But there are concerns that his reflexes are fading, and he owes his continued place in the team to a lack of credible options elsewhere, including the 20-year-old Sam Konstas who has been axed after averaging eight in three Tests in the Caribbean over the summer.
Konstas’s breathless arrival on the scene against India a year ago, when he reverse-scooped Jasprit Bumrah and was shoulder-barged by a petulant Virat Kohli, was greeted with excitement in Australia, partly because they are desperate to find a high-octane replacement for the retired David Warner.
Bailey, though, made clear his position: ‘As complicated as we try and make cricket, really it’s about runs.’
There is another scenario, and it’s one Australia would rather not entertain. If Cameron Green fails to prove his fitness as an all-rounder by bowling 15 to 20 overs for Western Australia during next week’s Sheffield Shield game against Queensland at the WACA, he may have to bat at No3, pushing Marnus Labuschagne up to open with Khawaja and allowing room for all-rounder Beau Webster at No6.
Green, at 26, is also the only player under the age of 30 in the Aussies' squad. That brought criticism from Steve Waugh, who had interpreted it as a reticence to make tough calls on ageing heroes, and a defence from Bailey of: 'I'm interested when people have that view as to who they would like us to leave out. Is that Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc? Is that just because of their age? You've got to give due respect that the guys are performing very well and they have the right to be selected.'
Labuschagne, dropped against West Indies, has been in prime form with Queensland, scoring five hundreds in eight innings across the formats, and would prefer to stay at first drop, where he averages nearly 49 and has scored all 11 of his Test hundreds.
England will be hoping Green plays in the first Test as a specialist batsman. He averages 23 in eight innings at No 3, and it would expose Labuschagne to the new ball. It would also deprive Australia of an extra seam-bowling option.
Then again, a top seven that includes four left-handers in Weatherald, Khawaja, Travis Head and wicket-keeper Alex Carey will keep Jofra Archer interested. As he confirmed during his Test comeback against India in the summer, his natural movement across the lefties is as potent a new-ball weapon as anything in the game.
Scott Boland is back with captain Pat Cummins (right) out injured for at least the first Test
Brendan Doggett, who had a brief spell with Durham, is one of three uncapped players in the Australia squad
Sean Abbott, who spent four summers with Surrey, is another hoping to make his Test debut this winter
There are no secrets or surprises when it comes to Australia’s bowling. With Pat Cummins long ruled out of the first Test, the frontline quartet will be Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland and Lyon – a daunting prospect for England. But the Aussies will be only one injury away from having to select either Sean Abbott or Brendan Doggett, two more uncapped players among the 15.
Given that Cummins is already missing at least one game, and neither Starc nor Hazlewood can reasonably be expected to play all five, it is likely either former Surrey man Abbott or the 31-year-old Doggett, fresh from a six-for for South Australia against Western Australia, will appear at some stage. England’s challenge will be to cash in if and when they get the chance.
The reserve wicketkeeper and spare batsman is the Leeds-born, Coventry City-supporting Josh Inglis, whose embryonic international CV is a reminder of the quality that lurks in the Australian game. He hammered England for an unbeaten 120 off 86 balls during the Champions Trophy at Lahore in February, having a month earlier made a century on Test debut in Galle.
His presence in the squad, though, confirms a suspicion: whomever they choose, Australia will field a strong side. But it won’t be the strongest England have faced Down Under. And it’s not even close.
Australia’s 15-man squad for the first Test at Perth: Steve Smith (capt), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wkt), Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster.
