Marcus Harris returns to Australia's Test set-up in a trimmed down 13-player squad for two Tests against the West Indies in Perth and Adelaide
Selectors reveal squad for Windies Test series
Australia's selectors have retained faith in the squad that delivered a 4-0 Ashes triumph last summer for the upcoming two-match NRMA Insurance Test Series against the West Indies.
The 13-player squad named today represents a downsize on the number of players needed in recent years when COVID-19 protocols remained in place, with pace bowlers Michael Neser and Jhye Richardson as well as leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson the names missing from last summer's expanded Ashes group.
Swepson was also part of this year's overseas Test campaigns in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, where spin-friendly conditions saw the inclusion of allrounders Ashton Agar and Mitchell Marsh with back-up 'keeper Josh Inglis also a member of those touring parties.
Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner.
Test-capped opener Marcus Harris regains his berth after being overlooked for Sri Lanka where Australia shared the spoils 1-1 after their historic 1-0 series win on their first tour to Pakistan for almost quarter of a century.
National selection panel chair George Bailey said today Harris's reinstatement was recognition of his recent form with the left-hander posting centuries in both the Marsh Sheffield Shield and Marsh One Day Cup formats this summer after a stint in the UK county competition.
"Marcus Harris retains his place after continuing to perform for Gloucestershire in the English County competition and a strong start to the Marsh Sheffield Shield season," Bailey said today.
"After some larger squads for the subcontinent tours over the winter, we have returned to a very similar squad to that which performed strongly last summer in comprehensively winning the Ashes."
Travis Head, player of the series in last summer's Ashes triumph, has kept his place despite scoring 291 runs at an average of just under 20 with a solitary half-century in his 17 first-class innings since his match-defining hundred in the final Test against England at Hobart.
Support had been growing for Victoria captain Peter Handscomb to earn a recall to Australia's middle-order given he has plundered 1,122 first-class runs at a touch above 70 with three centuries (including last month's 281no against Western Australia) from 23 knocks over the same period.
But Bailey and his fellow selectors Tony Dodemaide and men's team coach Andrew McDonald have stuck with the top six they have deployed since that Hobart Test when Usman Khawaja replaced Harris as David Warner's opening partner.
That will ensure the incumbents have an opportunity to cement their places for the three-Test NRMA Insurance Series against South Africa which immediately follows the West Indies campaign.
And it reflects stability in selection as Australia eyes landmark Test assignments next year – a four-Test tour to India and an Ashes defence in the UK – as well as the prospect of a maiden ICC World Test Championship Final appearance at The Oval in London next June.
Pat Cummins' team currently sits atop the Test Championship ladder, 10 percentage points clear of South Africa with Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan and West Indies all jostling for third place.
Having narrowly missed last year's inaugural Test Championship final after being docked points for maintaining a slow over rate in a Test against India, Australia will be keen to back up their Ashes triumph with another undefeated home summer.
West Indies have not won a Test on Australian soil since 1997 and have lost 12 of their 14 outings here since that time but emerged successful in their two most recent campaigns against Bangladesh and England, both of which were played in the Caribbean.
Despite Australia's early exit from the T20 World Cup, it is unlikely the all-format members of the Test squad – Cummins, Warner, Steve Smith, Cameron Green, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood – will have an opportunity to play any red-ball cricket prior to the opening Test.
That cohort was also named in the squad for the three-match Dettol ODI Series against England that begins in Adelaide next week, along with fellow Test squad members Head, Marnus Labuschagne and Alex Carey.
It means veterans Nathan Lyon, Usman Khawaja and Scott Boland remain the only 'red-ball specialists' in the 13-player Test squad who have the benefit of potentially two more Shield matches before the West Indies series gets underway in Perth on November 30.
Men's NRMA Insurance Test Series v West Indies
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner
West Indies squad: Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Shamarh Brooks, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Roston Chase, Joshua Da Silva, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Anderson Phillip, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, Devon Thomas
Nov 17-19: ACT/NSW XI v Windies, Canberra
Nov 23-26: PM's XI v Windies, Canberra (day-night)
Nov 30 – Dec 4: First Test, Perth Stadium, 10:20am
Dec 8-12: Second Test, Adelaide Oval, 2:30pm (day-night)
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