"Barring injury, the only new player in the eventual XI will be Jake Weatherald, the 31-year-old Northern Territorian who in cricketing terms became a South Australian and then a Tasmanian, earning his place over severals seasons of unflashy consistency and a willingness to counterattack. Weatherald would not have made the squad if he were not going to open the batting."
"Labuschagne at three means that there is only room for one of Cameron Green or Beau Webster at six. Green, if he can prove he is over some side soreness in the upcoming Sheffield Shield game, wins that contest by a margin of two Test hundreds, 15kph of bowling speed, and five years of being an unfinished Cricket Australia lab project to engineer the ultimate cricket specimen."
Jake Weatherald is the sole new inclusion in the Ashes XI, selected to open after sustained, unflashy performances across state cricket. Marnus Labuschagne will bat at number three rather than open. The middle-order has room for only one of Cameron Green or Beau Webster at six, with Green favoured if fit because of recent Test centuries, greater bowling pace and longer-term development as an all-round prospect. Mitch Marsh misses out despite strong white-ball form. Steve Smith, Travis Head and Usman Khawaja are retained, and the only likely changes would come from injury or Khawaja returning to open.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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