Jake Weatherald Gets Nod To Open For Australia In Ashes Series Opener

Opener Jake Weatherald is group to subordinate accelerated bowler Brendan Doggett successful debuting for Australia successful nan Ashes opener successful Perth.

While Doggett was a near-certainty to play aft Josh Hazlewood was ruled retired owed to a hamstring injury, Australia were weighing up whether to prime Weatherald aliases usage Marnus Labuschagne astatine nan top.

But nan Northern Territory-raised Weatherald will go Khawaja’s sixth opening partner since David Warner retired from Test cricket successful January 2024. It intends Weatherald’s Tasmania teammate Beau Webster misses out, dropped aft playing 7 Tests since his singular debut against India successful January.

Stand-in skipper Steve Smith will corroborate nan squad astatine his pre-match property convention aft training astatine Perth Stadium connected Thursday. It will beryllium nan first clip since Kurtis Patterson and Jhye Richardson came successful to look Sri Lanka successful January 2019 that Australia person blooded 2 debutants successful nan aforesaid Test.

After being dropped for nan circuit of nan Caribbean pursuing a thin run, Labuschagne is backmost pursuing his outstanding commencement to nan summertime for Queensland. Green, who had pushed up to No 3 since his return from a superior backmost injury, will spell backmost to No 6 wherever he started his Test career.

But Green looms arsenic Australia’s semipermanent No 4 erstwhile Smith ends his illustrious Test profession successful coming years. The 26-year-old has only conscionable returned to bowling aft playing arsenic a batter-only successful his 4 Tests this year.

England connected Wednesday named a 12-man squad for nan first Test, picking some speedsters Jofra Archer and Mark Wood arsenic they purpose to capitalise connected a accepted pacy and bouncy transportation successful Perth.

England skipper Ben Stokes will besides reside nan media connected Thursday aft Smith speaks successful what shapes arsenic nan closest Ashes bid successful Australia for much than 40 years.

Australia XI: Jake Weatherald, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (captain), Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland, Brendan Doggett.