Weatherald 'in the mix' for Ashes if form continues: Bailey

Jake Weatherald is firmly in the mix to make his Test debut in this summer’s Ashes and has been encouraged to maintain consistency by selection chief George Bailey.

Three-and-a-half months out from the first ball being bowled in Perth, Australia are yet to settle on an opening combination for the series opener against England, with Weatherald the latest to build a strong case.

The left-hander finished as the leading run-scorer in the 2024-25 Sheffield Shield season with 906 runs for his adopted state Tasmania.

He followed that up with a dominant 183 for Australia A against Sri Lanka A in Darwin last month, just as fellow opening contenders Sam Konstas and Usman Khawaja were in the midst of a bowler-dominated Test series in the Caribbean.

Weatherald has insisted he feels "ready to go" and Bailey said the reborn batter is in contention.

"He's doing a lot of things right, isn't he?" Bailey told reporters in the Northern Territory capital on Thursday ahead of Australia’s series-opening T20I against South Africa.

"His performance last year was awesome. His performance in the Australia A matches was great too.

"The clear focus for him is to continue that and be consistent.

"A lot of selection is potentially being in the right place at the right time.

"So if he starts the year as he had last year, I think he'll be well in the mix."

That message from Bailey comes on the same day that Weatherald was left out of Australia A's four-day squad to play in India next month. Konstas was the only Test incumbent selected in a squad largely made up of Shield standouts.

Bailey explained the squad had been picked with a "two-to-five year lens".

"We've got a Test tour to India in 2027 (and are) trying to gain some experience and get some guys over there," Bailey said.

"Repeat entries into the subcontinent is really important.

"So when they do land there with the national team, they've got a method and a way and they've had some success over there.

"All those tours we pick are called 'Australia A', but depending on when and where they fit into the schedule, sometimes the design around them is slightly different."

After a potentially demoralising series in the Caribbean that netted 50 runs in six innings, Konstas is in good spirits according to the head selector.

The 19-year-old will now have an additional two first-class matches in India, to go with four for New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield, to press his case ahead of the first Test on November 21.

"The chat that I've had with Sam since we've returned (from the Windies tour) is that he's reflected on that and he's put a few things into his training," Bailey said.

"He's launched himself back into to getting ready for India and then playing for New South Wales.

"He's dealing with it well. I think he deals with most things pretty well."

The Australians made a shock call in their most recent Test, the third against West Indies in Jamaica, when they left out off-spinner Nathan Lyon and instead played four frontline fast bowlers.

Asked if he could see a situation where Australia do that again this summer, Bailey responded it was "very, very unlikely".

2025-26 NRMA Insurance Men's Ashes

First Test: November 21-25, Perth Stadium, 1.30pm AEDT

Second Test: December 4-8, The Gabba, Brisbane (D/N), 3.30pm AEDT

Third Test: December 17-21: Adelaide Oval, 11am AEDT

Fourth Test: December 26-30: MCG, Melbourne, 10.30am AEDT

Fifth Test: January 4-8: SCG, Sydney, 10.30am AEDT