Three debutants likely for Australia Test XI

Australia look set to field at least three debutants in their Test series-opener against Pakistan next week, as captain Tim Paine confirmed the side picked for their only warm-up match is a strong indication of what selectors see as their best XI.

While Paine insists "nothing is certain", the uncapped trio of Aaron Finch, Travis Head and Michael Neser have all firmed to receive Baggy Greens when the first Test begins at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on October 7.

All three have been picked in the tourists’ side to face Pakistan A in a four-day tour match starting Saturday at the nearby ICC Academy, with Finch set to open the batting, Head to bat at either the five or six position and Neser to share fast bowling duties with Mitchell Starc.

Left-armer Jon Holland also looks likely to play his first Test in more than two years after being chosen to partner Nathan Lyon in the practice game that has official first-class status.

Paceman Peter Siddle and batsman Marnus Labuschagne are the two main omissions, while uncapped speedster Brendan Doggett and spinner Ashton Agar, who had a minor shoulder niggle in the JLT Cup, have also been rested.

But Paine says the door to the Test XI is not shut for them.

"There are certainly still spots up for grabs (but) I wouldn't say there's a heap," the captain told cricket.com.au.

"You can look at that team and say it's pretty close to what we'll go with in the Test team.

"But nothing is certain at this stage. A lot can happen in four days, there's opportunities for guys to impress."

Replacing the run-scoring capabilities of banned duo Steve Smith and David Warner looms as the new-look team’s biggest challenge.

Australia haven't won a Test series on the subcontinent since 2011 and of the current 15-player squad, only Shaun Marsh has scored a Test hundred in Asia.

But there are encouraging signs the other members of the top-order are capable of delivering the triple-figure milestones Justin Langer so desperately craves. Usman Khawaja struck 127 for Australia A on their recent tour of India, Mitch Marsh has an 87 to his name from Australia's last Test series in the UAE while Paine made 92 in Mohali against India way back in 2010.

Paine suggested a more calculated approach, the kind Australia adopted for encouraging tours of India and Bangladesh last year, where they won individual Test matches but not the series, holds the key to big totals.

"Traditionally Australian teams have been aggressive and tried to take the game to the opposition," the wicketkeeper explained. "Over here in particular, you've got to be really patient and try to stay in the game for as long as you can.

"We know the first three days here can move really slowly, the pitches are generally flat and then the last few days it can start to spin and reverse, games at the back end move really quickly.

"It's about us being really patient, really disciplined. JL (Langer) spoke about leaving our egos at home, particularly as a batting group and being prepared to bat for a long, long time.

"If we can do that we can have some success."

On the bowling front, Australia are also missing two major weapons in Josh Hazelwood and Pat Cummins.

The presence of top-notch bowlers in Mitchell Starc and Lyon does offset those losses, with both having proven to be formidable operators in Asia.

Starc has 33 wickets at 26 in eight Tests in Sri Lanka, India and the UAE, while Lyon, having struggled in his early ventures to this part of the world, claimed 41 wickets at 19 in six Tests in Asia last year to establish himself as a genuinely world-class bowler in all conditions.

While Neser and Holland (or whoever is chosen to be Starc and Lyon's foils for the first Test) will play key supporting roles, Paine also pointed to the bowling options among Australia's top order.

"We're hopeful our spinners will bowl a lot of overs over here, there's no doubt about that," he said.

"We're confident Starcy being the real strike weapon over here but obviously it's going to be difficult for fast bowlers to bowl lots of overs.

"Having lots of guys in your top six that can bowl any overs is certainly more than handy.

"The squad's really flexible the whole day down, even Marnus has been bowling really handy leg-spinners since we got here.

"We've got a really flexible squad, we can play two quicks, three spinners – whatever we have to do. Whatever scenario is presented by the Test wicket, we'll have a team we think can do well in those conditions."

Australia XI for tour match v Pakistan A: Tim Paine (c, wk), Aaron Finch, Matthew Renshaw, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Michael Neser, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Jon Holland.

Pakistan A squad: Asad Shafiq (c), Sami Aslam, Abid Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Usman Salahuddin, Saad Ali, Agha Salman, Muhammad Rizwan, Waqas Maqsood, Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Amir Yamin, Umaid Asif, Saud Shakeel. 

Qantas Tour of the UAE

Australia Test squad: Tim Paine (c), Ashton Agar, Brendan Doggett, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc

Pakistan Test squad: Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Azhar Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Usman Salahuddin, Yasir Shah, Shadab Khan, Bilal Asif, Mohammad Abbas, Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Faheem Ashraf, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan

Sep 29 - Oct 2: Tour match v Pak A, Dubai

Oct 7-11: First Test, Dubai

Oct 16-20: Second Test, Abu Dhabi