New opening duo add to selection dilemma

The tough task of determining who will make way for Steve Smith in Australia’s Test batting order did not get any easier for national selectors on day one of their tour match in Derby.

The Australians finished Thursday’s play on 0-77, trailing Derbyshire by 95 runs, with Marcus Harris (52 not out) and Usman Khawaja (18 not out) at the crease and pushing their case to be retained for the fourth Test in Manchester.

It was thought the pair might be going for the same spot once Khawaja announced he was opening the batting alongside Harris in the three-day clash.

But Test skipper Tim Paine said after play he’s uncertain which way the selectors are leaning as they look to drop a player to accommodate Smith, the world No.2 Test batsman.

"Steve Smith is going to come back in and play," Paine said. "So obviously someone from the last Test is going to miss out. There’s no doubt about that.

"You have the best player in the world coming back into your line-up.

"I suppose this tour game is important for guys to make sure that you’re keeping your name up in front of the selectors. And so far a few guys have done it, which is very pleasing.

"To be honest, I’m not too sure who might not be playing.

"There's a huge opportunity for guys in this game to make sure we got our selectors making really tough decisions and both those guys (Harris and Khawaja) have started really well, so it's a pleasing day."

The reason Australia's selectors are in this position is due to a chain of events started by England paceman Jofra Archer.

It was Archer's bouncer that floored Smith at Lord's and caused the delayed concussion that saw the Australian subbed out of the match and replaced by Marnus Labuschagne, who made a vital 59 on the final day.

Having not sufficiently recovered in time for the third Test in Leeds, Smith was ruled out and Labuschagne kept his place in the XI and was the standout batsman for the visitors, making scores of 74 and 80 in the epic one-wicket defeat.

But the selectors did make one change to the batting order at Headingley, with Harris coming in for Cameron Bancroft at the top order.

Harris made 8 and 19 in Leeds while Khawaja scored 8 and 23 to take his series average to 20.33 in six innings.

But both players have solid form behind them and showed glimpses of what they're capable of on day one in Derby.

Harris was the aggressor in the first-wicket partnership, hitting nine fours and reaching his half-century in 77 balls after less than 90 minutes in the middle.

The 27-year-old was strong on the front foot as he banished over-pitched deliveries from the understrength Derbyshire attack to the cover boundary.

Harris's approach of always looking to score impressed Paine, who sat out of the first-class fixture to rest ahead of the final two Tests

"If you bowl a bad ball to 'Harry' (Harris) he puts it away and I think that puts guys under pressure," Paine said.

"He's just an attacking opening batter and he keeps the scoreboard moving, but as he's shown in Shield cricket he's got the ability to bat for a long time and score big hundreds when he gets in.

"We know that Harry's got Test runs in him, and when he gets set hopefully he starts well tomorrow, gets a big score and he can continue putting runs on the board like he has for the last 18 months."

Khawaja, who is leading the Australians in Derby with Paine rested and vice-captains Travis Head and Pat Cummins also sitting out, was more subdued than Harris but was importantly still there at stumps.

Khawaja averages just 19.66 in six Tests in England, although five of his 12 innings on UK soil have been between 20 and 40, three of which have come in this series.

The graceful left-hander averages 96.80 in seven innings opening the batting in Test cricket and looked assured on Thursday evening despite offering a difficult return chance to Derbyshire seamer Alfie Gleadall when he was on 15.

Both Khawaja and Paine want to see the Queenslander convert his starts into large totals and he has a golden opportunity to do so on Friday.

"I thought he played really well again today," Paine said.

"He's got some really good starts in the Test innings. He's a little bit frustrated himself that he hasn’t been able to turn them into big scores like he normally does.

"We know Usman is a quality player. The times he's got his 20s or 30s in the Tests he's looked in reasonably good touch, he looked in good touch again today.

"He's a class player and we're sure he'll do well tomorrow and then we'll go from there."

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, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner.

England squad: Joe Root (c), Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jack Leach, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes (vc), Chris Woakes.

First Test: Australia beat England by 251 runs at Edgbaston

Second Test: Match drawn at Lord's

Third Test: England defeat Australia by one wicket at Headingley

Tour match: Australians v Derbyshire, August 29-31

Fourth Test: September 4-8, Old Trafford

Fifth Test: September 12-16, The Oval