Australia’s final WTC squad: all the talking points

As Australia unveiled their 17-man tour party, the selections and omissions will provide clues to their plan to beat India in the WTC final at The Oval and their plan for the first two Ashes Tests against England at Edgbaston and Lord’s.

Have faith in David Warner, even if it comes with insurance

As predicted, David Warner has been included after missing India’s last two Tests with both concussion and a hairline fracture in his elbow, although two other left-handed openers have also been named in Matthew Renshaw and Marcus Harris.

Warner even found his mojo with 200 against South Africa in the Boxing Day Test last year, although that is the only knock in his last 19 Test innings where he has passed 50.

The veteran opened with just 95 runs in 10 innings in the 2019 Ashes, with Stuart Broad dismissing the right-hander bowling seven times and throwing the ball away from the left-hander’s batting.

Batting in England has been tough for the Australian side in recent Ashes tours, with Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne the only players in the 2023 squad to average over 30. Warner is Australia’s second best average in England at 26. Will be joining Usman Khawaja, at least for now.

Renshaw presented his selection on the back of a strong New Zealand tour of Australia A and recent good domestic form, while Harris will play for Gloucestershire as part of his late bid for the tour.

Harris scored 59 and 148 against Glamorgan in his first County Championship appearance of the season to go along with his 601 runs in nine matches in last season’s Sheffield Shield.

Australia’s interest in the right/left combination was clearly not lacking despite the weaknesses exposed in 2019, with Cameron Bancroft left out of the squad.

Travis Head has a license to thrill in #5

Even after his admirable efforts at the top of the order in India, Travis Head will almost certainly drop to number five, serving in a similar role in which he competed for number six in the MRF Tires ICC Test Batting rankings.

Faded top-line bowling in India in the opening, most notably a score of 90 in the second innings of the Ahmedabad Test, as well as a win at Indore with a score of 49*.

The 29-year-old now has a Test average of 45.40, which has gone higher largely due to a change in his mindset, which now increases the opposition with his attacking batting.

The left-hander put England to the sword in Australia’s last home Ashes campaign, scoring 152 and 101, the former better than a run ball. Two scores in the 90s and a knock of 175 against the West Indies followed at the start of Australia’s 2022/23 summer, and later three fifties against South Africa.

The omission of Peter Handscomb suggests that Australia are set at No.3 down to No.7, and it looks as if Head will have all the clear strokes with the same freedom England have shown under Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes.

Mitch Marsh on the ice in a nod to Cameron Green?

The naming of Mitchell Marsh in the 17-man squad confirms Australia will continue as a batsman for their next three Test matches, and the selection panel can breathe easy knowing there are two reliable options for the role.

The six-foot-tall Cameron Green could be the game’s brightest young all-rounder since his breakthrough century for India, having also claimed 23 Test caps, including a five-wicket haul against South Africa in last years Boxing Day Test.

Having long sought a capable player in the role, the selection panel has Marsh on standby should Green go down, although it would be remiss not to acknowledge Marsh’s match-winning abilities.

Marsh’s century came from his Sheffield Shield appearance in Western Australia and his forays in the recent ODI series in India.

The 31-year-old’s 5/46 in the last Ashes Test four years ago only speaks to his credentials, and man-of-the-match in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final in 2021 proves his poise under pressure.

The fast bowlers were inclined to fly

The omission of Michael Neser, who some have allowed to creep into the team as fast-bowling cover, might just suggest that there are no concerns over the fitness of Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc.

The pair have both missed a number of Test matches with Achilles and finger injuries, although Hazlewood is expected to find his fitness in the IPL, and Starc came through the other end of the India tour seemingly unscathed.

Having only been introduced in the fourth and fifth Tests of 2019, Mitchell Starc will need little motivation to unleash Australia’s six-match spell in Great Britain, and Hazlewood is surprisingly enjoying the English conditions, taking 36 wickets at 25.83 in eight Tests.

The pair join captain Pat Cummins and are likely to form a fast-bowling trio, while Scott Boland, who should also enjoy the conditions in England, supports the group.

Tearaway quick Lance Morris, who has been included in the Test squad as he shows promise, was out of the squad’s focus due to injury.

Australia tour party

Pat Cummins (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vice-chairman) captain), Mitchell Starc, David Warner