Waugh backs allrounder's Test potential

National selector Mark Waugh has backed Marcus Stoinis as a potential future Test player, one week after the Victoria fast-bowling allrounder was named in Australia's one-day international squad.

Stoinis, 26, has yet to make his international debut but was given a call-up for the ODI series against England after impressive performances for Australia A during their tour of India.

"I think he definitely can," Waugh said on Triple M when asked about Stoinis's Test potential.

"He's a bit of a left-field selection (in the ODI squad) for a lot of people, because if you don't watch a lot of Shield cricket you probably wouldn't have heard of him very much.

"But he's a very talented player who is originally from Western Australia and he's moved to Victoria.

"He whacks the ball very, very hard, he averaged nearly 50 in the Shield last season, he bowls quite a heavy ball and he's a good fielder, a good package.

"That sort of player, he's a bit of a gamble but he's very talented."

Watch: Stoinis hits six sixes in one over

Waugh would not be drawn on whether Australia would continue with separate ODI and Test wicketkeepers, following the rise of Peter Nevill to the Test XI this Ashes series and Matthew Wade's selection in the ODI squad.

Quick single: Nevill, Wade vie to be No.1 gloveman

"(Wade's) picked for the next series. We know what he can do, he's a very capable batsman and a good hitter anywhere in the top six," Waugh said.

"His keeping has been pretty good in recent times, so he is an excellent player (but) there are other guys lurking, like Sam Whiteman from Western Australia who is a good young player.

"I think generally we have depth in most areas in Australia and wicketkeeping is one of those."

Waugh also backed Steve Smith to remain at No.3, after an Ashes series that has seen him score 33, 33, 215, 58, 7, 8, 6 and 5 in the position.

Watch: Smith's double ton at Lord's

Smith stepped up to first drop for the recent West Indies tour but after being named as successor to Test skipper Michael Clarke last week said he was unsure whether he would remain in the position.

"I suppose his technique at the moment, people are questioning it, but he got 200 at Lord's," Waugh said of Smith.

"I think he wants to bat at three so I'm not saying no."

Waugh said 25-year-old Joe Burns – who played two Tests last summer against India and who was named in Australia's ODI squad after blistering form on the Australia A tour of India this month – was another batsman who could potentially slip into first drop.

"He is very versatile. He's played in the middle order for Australia and opened in Shield, so he could slot in at three or he could open maybe."

Watch: Joe Burns wreaks havoc in Chennai

Fellow Australia A batsmen Usman Khawaja, 28, Cameron Bancroft, 22, Travis Head, 21, and Callum Ferguson, 30, were also noted by Waugh as part of a pack of talented batsmen capable of breaking into the Test XI.

"We've got to get the right balance between looking to win the next game and the future," he said.