Steady Siddle continues Ashes push

Peter Siddle looks set to be a key figure for Essex on the final day of their County Championship match against Warwickshire after claiming a first-innings five-wicket haul on Sunday.

Essex, currently sitting in second spot in division one, have set the Bears 401 to win at Chelmsford, with the visitors closing day three at 1-67.

Siddle has figures of 0-18 after five overs but did chances of a Test recall for the Ashes no harm with 5-33 on Sunday, including a stunning spell that netted him four wickets in five overs.

Siddle was one of eight fast bowlers named in the 25-man squad Australia XII v Australia A selection showdown in Southampton from July 23, alongside Mitchell Starc, Chris Tremain, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Jackson Bird, Michael Neser and James Pattinson.

Of that group, only five are set to be selected in the Ashes squad, according to national selector Trevor Hohns.

"That's normal for an Ashes tour of five Test matches," Hohns said. "With (the Tests) being close together as well, with five (fast bowlers) it also gives us the opportunity to manage our fast bowlers a little better, that's what we'll be attempting to do.

"I think these days our fast bowling group understands that.

"Sometimes it's physically difficult for them to back up when Test matches are close together."

Siddle has taken 43 wickets in the UK from 11 Tests at an average of 28.37, but has only played seven Tests since Australia's 2015 Ashes tour.

For Essex this northern summer, the 34-year-old has 32 wickets at 20.43 in seven-and-a-half matches, with the final day still to be played out against Warwickshire.

Elsewhere in County Championship action, Queenslander Marnus Labuschagne continued his run spree for Glamorgan, notching up a second-innings 51 against Middlesex to remain the leading run-scorer in division two, with 1,114 at 65.52, including five hundreds and five fifties.

2019 Qantas Ashes Tour of England

Tour match: Australia v Australia A, July 23-26

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