Five unlucky Ashes squad omissions

With Australia's squad cut from 25 to 17 for the Ashes, there was always going to be several "desperately" unlucky players to miss out on selection.

National selector Trevor Hohns said it was no easy job picking the squad that underlines the depth of talent in Australian cricket.

"It has been a difficult task to reduce the 25-player squad here in Southampton down to 17 and those who have not made the final Ashes party are all desperately unlucky," Hohns said.

"However, that problem also highlights that we have a degree of depth to select from and that is a terrific positive."

So, with eight high-calibre players overlooked, it would be easy to make an argument for each of them.

But below we've picked out five players who were considered fringe players or Test incumbents.

Jackson Bird

Bird was picked on the Australia A tour of England on the back of 50 wickets for Tasmania in the 2018-19 Sheffield Shield season. His knowledge, experience of English conditions and bowling style made him a strong Ashes contender. Bird said during the A tour his best shot of selection was as the fifth fast bowler, putting him in a head-to-head battle with veteran Peter Siddle. Both quicks bowled impressively in the intra-squad clash in Southampton, but Siddle's track record in England appears to have gotten him the nod over Bird, who was also leap-frogged by Michael Neser due to the Queenslander's superior batting ability.

Joe Burns

Burns is one of two Test incumbents, along with Kurtis Patterson, to miss out. The right-hander scored 180 in Australia's last Test, against Sri Lanka in Canberra, and made 133 for Australia A against Sussex four days after touching down on English soil. But with Steve Smith and David Warner always going to return to the Test side once they became eligible, two players had to be squeezed out and Burns was one of them. The 29-year-old did admirably well to continue playing last summer with an undiagnosed chronic fatigue disorder that cut short his county stint with Lancashire. He returned home, rested up and flew back in time for the A tour, but the records of Smith and Warner and the form of Cameron Bancroft and Marnus Labuschagne saw Burns miss out. 

Alex Carey

Despite a breakout World Cup, where he scored 375 runs and claimed 20 dismissals to be included in the ICC's Team of the Tournament, Carey was pipped by Matthew Wade as the squad's reserve wicketkeeper. Wade's prolific form with the bat was too hard to ignore even though Carey scored a century in his last first-class match back in December and has continued to improve with the bat. However, Carey is set to remain in England playing T20 cricket with Jason Gillespie's Sussex Sharks in the domestic T20 competition, so should mishap befall one of Paine or Wade, the selectors could quickly parachute in the South Australian.

Jon Holland

Image Id: E846BBE7B77B4FC18D5C79750A6E3337 Image Caption: Holland was overlooked as Australia picked only one specialist spinner // Getty

For just the second time this century, Australia's selectors have opted for only one specialist spinner in their Ashes squad. Nathan Lyon, who has not missed a Test since the third match of the 2013 Ashes, is the sole spinner with batting allrounder Labuschagne to provide support. Hohns said the selectors did not feel as though they would play two specialist spinners in an Ashes Test, but will call up a full-time spinner should injury strike Lyon.

Kurtis Patterson

Like Burns, Patterson was edged out as Smith and Warner were whisked back into the squad. Patterson scored an unbeaten 114 against Sri Lanka in Canberra, but was unable to post three figures on the A tour of England. Patterson's spot at No.6 will likely be filled by either Wade or Labuschagne, depending on pitch conditions and the makeup of the top order. Hohns said neither Burns nor Patterson had done anything wrong and wanted to see them both, and all players who missed selection, to return to domestic cricket and score bulk runs. 

2019 Qantas Ashes Tour of England

Australia squad: Tim Paine (c), Cameron Bancroft, Pat Cummins, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner.

First Test: August 1-5,Edgbaston

Tour match: Australians v Worcestershire, August 7-9

Second Test: August 14-18,Lord's

Third Test: August 22-26, Headingley

Tour match: Australians v Derbyshire, August 29-31

Fourth Test: September 4-8, Old Trafford

Fifth Test: September 12-16, The Oval