Taking stock of Australia's 'keepers

Keeping wicket is one of the most demanding, and most specialised positions in any team – and in Australian cricket right now, also one of the most hotly debated.

So while England have their dilemmas surrounding their top order, Australia have their own issues to resolve, the most pressing of which is who will don the gloves when the first Test rolls around at the Gabba on November 23.

And with the Australian team's decision to axe incumbent Matthew Wade from the one-day XI for the third ODI in Indore, the door has been thrown wide open with that Magellan Ashes contest now less than two months away.

With that in mind, it’s a good time to take stock of where Australian cricket's leading glovemen stand.

Matthew Wade (Tasmania)

Australia's incumbent Test 'keeper, he was also the one-day gloveman until Sunday's match in Indore where he was dropped and the gloves handed to Peter Handscomb. Whether that was a one-off for conditions or signalled a bigger shift in thinking remains to be seen with the next ODI scheduled for Thursday in Bengaluru. In ten Tests since his recall last November, Wade has scored 263 runs at 20.23 with one fifty, while taking 30 catches and eight stumpings. He came into the side for Peter Nevill, who had under-performed with the bat but Wade is still searching for the big score to lock down the position for himself. Wade moved states to Tasmania in the off-season and his next opportunity to press his case to retain Test status may come in the opening round of the JLT Sheffield Shield when the Tigers travel to Perth for a day-night match at the WACA.

Peter Nevill (NSW)

Handed his Baggy Green cap on the Lord's outfield by Steve Waugh, Nevill lost his Test spot to Matthew Wade in the Australian team's blood letting following last summer's series defeat to South Africa. He responded with a stellar run of form in the Sheffield Shield, with scores of 179 not out, 118 and 143 not out. A big start to the domestic summer with the bat may well cement his return to the Test team, but concerns about his on-field 'presence' behind the stumps which contributed to his axing remain.

Tim Paine (Tasmania)

Another one capped in Baggy Green, albeit way back in 2010 against Pakistan at Lord's alongside now-skipper Steve Smith, Paine made a long-awaited return to national colours at the back end of last summer with the T20 team. He did enough there to retain his standing as Australia's short-form gloveman of choice and will soon be bound for India and a three-match T20 series there. That takes him out of contention for the early rounds of the JLT Cup. And with Wade now also on the books at Tasmania, Paine may not get the nod in the early Shield rounds and be left sidelined without an opportunity to press his case. With both Wade and Paine away on international duty, Tasmania look set to hand the gloves to either Jake Doran or Ben Dunk for their JLT One-Day Cup campaign.

Peter Handscomb (Victoria)

A self-described part-time and reluctant wicketkeeper, Handscomb is a batsman first, and a mighty fine one at that. But he's kept wicket for Australia in one-day internationals more than once now, and was in the frame to take the gloves for a Test match in Bangladesh, seemingly until a last-minute reprieve for Matthew Wade. That probably says more about the shaky ground Wade has found himself on recently than any long-term plans for Handscomb to be a gloveman, but he remains an option for Australia. The feeling remains though that the Ashes campaign would be better served with Handscomb focused on his batting and close fielding than adding keeping duties, although the resulting impacts on team balance are interesting to ponder.

Alex Carey (South Australia)

The only wicketkeeper picked for the Australia A tour of South Africa that fell victim to the pay dispute negotiations, Alex Carey obviously remains highly regarded by Australia's selectors. At 26, he is six years younger than Nevill, and four younger than Wade, so has time on his side. His 59 Shield dismissals last summer set a new single-season record. In 18 first-class games he's scored 794 runs at 25.61, but is yet to break through for a maiden first-class century. Last summer's 11 Shield games yielded 594 runs at 33, which shows he has improved and a continuation of that trend in the one-day cup and early Shield rounds this summer could see him bolt into Ashes contention.

Josh Inglis (Western Australia)

Twelve months ago Josh Inglis was playing with the Cricket Australia XI development squad in the 50-over domestic competition. This year he'll be the Warrior's first choice gloveman. Born in Yorkshire, he moved to Perth in the early teenage years and hasn't looked back. A first-class debut came in a CA XI side against the touring West Indies in 2015 and injures opened the door to him for the Warriors last year. With Sam Whiteman on the long-term injured list, Inglis will have a clear run at the keeping duties at the WACA, while two half-centuries last summer showed he's more than capable with the bat. In seven first-class matches so far he's scored 292 at 32.44 and has 30 catches.

Jimmy Peirson (Queensland)

The retirement of Queensland legend Chris Hartley means a new man will be behind the wicket for the Bulls this summer. Known to audiences through his exploits with the Brisbane Heat, Peirson now has the opportunity to tackle the job across all three formats in the Sunshine State. He has performed well for the Bulls and Brisbane Heat in his previous white-ball opportunities, and filled in for an injured Harltey for three games last season, scoring 209 runs at 41.80. New coach Wade Seccombe, another legendary Queensland keeper, will be a hard task master but he'll be dreaming of Peirson replicating those numbers across a full season of Shield cricket. Peirson's understudy will be Lachlan Pfeffer, in his first year on a state contract, having previously represented Queensland at under-17, 19 and Future League levels.

Sam Harper (Victoria)

Sam Harper's summer was cut short in sickening fashion last February, accidentally caught on the helmet by the bat in the follow through of a shot. He spent a fortnight in an Adelaide hospital before being discharged to return home but has since made a full recovery. He will now look to cement his spot as Victoria's first-choice gloveman with the move of Matthew Wade back to Tasmania but faces competition after his replacement Seb Gotch stepped up admirably. Before the injury, Harper had been a beneficiary of Wade's recall to the Test team at Peter Nevill's expense: that opened the door to make his return to the Victoria side and in four matches the 20-year-old had done well, scoring 150 runs at 25 with 12 catches. Harper made headlines in February 2016 on his first-class debut when he took a record nine catches in the match.

Seb Gotch (Victoria)

The 24-year-old stepped up to take the gloves for the Victorian Bushrangers following Sam Harper's injury, and played a key role in helping the state secure the Sheffield Shield title, being involved in two crucial partnerships across both innings, scoring 52 and 48. He played the final four matches of last summer's Shield competition, scoring 171 runs at 34.2 and taking 11 catches and one stumping. However, he will likely find himself back behind Harper in the Bushrangers pecking order as the 2017-18 season begins.

Sam Whiteman (WA)

At one stage touted as the next Australian Test gloveman following a stellar 2013-14 domestic season, Whiteman has not quite managed to maintain those lofty standards since. There was the epic knock for Australia A the following winter alongside WA teammate Mitch Marsh in Brisbane, but his numbers have since slipped and last summer he was beset by injuries. The latest of which, a seriously broken digit, saw him go back under the knife in Sydney recently, and he has sought out fellow 'keeper Tim Paine for advice after the Tasmanian endured similar struggles earlier in his career. He is currently working with the Western Australia' Under-17s at the national championships on Queensland's Sunshine Coast and is expected to spend five to six months getting his finger right before entertaining a return to keeping.

Cameron Bancroft (WA)

It's easy to forget Cameron Bancroft was in line for a Baggy Green until security issues forced Australia to postpone a Test tour of Bangladesh in 201(5?). More of an opening batsman, and often second in line at WA behind Sam Whiteman, he remains a viable option as a gloveman, much in the same manner of Peter Handscomb. He was parachuted into the Australia team for one T20 international against India at the SCG in January 2016, but didn't face a ball and took the one catch. A winter plying his trade for Gloucestershire in English county cricket saw him score 685 runs at 40.29 in 11 matches, but he didn't play as a wicketkeeper.