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Selectors have named five uncapped players and recalled fast bowler Peter Siddle for the upcoming series against Pakistan in United Arab Emirates, as Australia continues life without Steve Smith and David Warner in the Test arena.
Queensland trio Michael Neser, Brendan Doggett and Marnus Labuschagne, South Australia's Travis Head and Victoria's Aaron Finch will all be vying for their first Test cap, after being named as part of the 15-man squad which will face Pakistan in Dubai and Abu Dhabi next month.
Australia Test squad:
- Tim Paine (c), Ashton Agar, Brendan Doggett, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Michael Neser, Matt Renshaw, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc
The 33-year-old Siddle has not played a Test in almost two years but could add to his 62 appearances, with the Australian squad missing injured regular quicks Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins.
The omission of all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who scored 707 runs at 50.50 last Sheffield Shield season, raised some eyebrows, while Joe Burns, Peter Handscomb and Jhye Richardson were also overlooked.
Tim Paine will captain Australia, having taken on the role during the South Africa tour earlier this year when Smith was stood down following his role in the ball-tampering scandal.
Smith, Warner and Cameron Bancroft all accepted Cricket Australia-imposed bans in the wake of the incident that rocked the sport.
It will be the first Test series Australia has contested under coach Justin Langer, who replaced Darren Lehmann in May.
.jpg/10234018 "No room was found for Glenn Maxwell in Australia's 15-man squad.")
Langer said Siddle, who has taken 211 wickets at an average of 29.92, would add a valuable dose of experience to the tour squad.
He noted Siddle had recently performed superbly in English first-class cricket.
"He's in career-best form, in the sense he's taking a lot of wickets for Essex," Langer said.
"He was excellent for Victorian and the Strikers at the end of last year. He is an awesome Australian and he will be brilliant for our young bowling group."
Finch a strong chance to play first Test
Langer suggested Finch, who has made 93 one-day international appearances, was in line to make his Test debut at age 31.
"Albeit in white-ball cricket, he's (Finch) probably as in-form a player as there is in the world at the moment," he said.
"What I love about Aaron Finch is he scores hundreds. In Test cricket that's very important. He's also in career-best shape. I know he's waited a long time for it.
"Hopefully like a Mike Hussey, or a Brad Hodge, or a George Bailey or a Chris Rogers, he can have an impact on Test cricket as well as white-ball cricket."
Doggett will become just the second Indigenous Australian cricketer to play a Test, following Jason Gillespie, should he be selected.
The Queensland fast bowler only made his first-class debut last October but is playing for Australia A on its tour of India.
"Brendan is an exciting prospect, a fast bowler with raw pace and wicket-taking ability," national selector Trevor Hohns said in a statement.
"He provides an additional option to Mitchell Starc if extra pace is called for, and this is an ideal opportunity to get him involved in a national set-up for the first time after his recent showings for Queensland and Australia A."
Hohns said selectors were keen for as many players to be blooded as possible.
"There has been significant change to our Test squad, due to the unavailability of a number of key players," he said.
"That said, we firmly believe the squad selected is up to the challenge ahead, and is capable of playing a brand of cricket that can perform well in this series against Pakistan.
"It's a blend of experienced players who have a significant amount of either Test or first-class cricket, and a number of younger players who we are confident are ready for the Test arena."
The first Test (Dubai) begins on October 7 and the second (Abu Dhabi) on October 16.
Topics: sport, cricket, australia
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