Australia have announced their squad for the first Test of the 2025/26 Ashes series, narrowing down their options for their XI to 15.
The squad left plenty of room for variation, both in personnel and in the balance of the side the selectors will eventually land on. Fourteen of the squad will play in the next round of the Sheffield Shield, in a last chance for answers to those remaining questions to be found.
Australia squad: Steve Smith (c), Usman Khawaja, Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Alex Carey (wk), Beau Webster, Sean Abbott, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland, Brendan Doggett, Nathan Lyon.
The first Test of the series is now just over two weeks away, and will get started on November 21 in Perth.
Predicted: Australia's first Test Ashes XI
The top order
The biggest news from the squad announcement was that incumbent opener Sam Konstas has been dropped. The 20-year-old partnered Usman Khawaja in Australia's last Test outing in West Indies, but was out before breaking into double digits in four out of his six innings. He has since only passed 50 once in the three Shield matches he's played this season.
Australia have used several players in their squad as makeshift openers since David Warner's retirement. Steve Smith, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne have all had stints up top. However, the selectors have picked a specialist in Jake Weatherald in the squad, backing his domestic form which has seen him score 1,391 runs across 23 innings since the start of last year's domestic season in Australia.
Realistically, Australia will need to choose between Weatherald and Labuschagne to partner Khawaja. That choice in itself will be largely controlled by whether Cameron Green is fit to play as an all-rounder. If Green can't bowl the required overs, Australia will likely keep Beau Webster in the lower middle-order, and bat Green at No.3 as they did in the Caribbean. It will then be a straight shootout between Weatherald and Labuschagne for the opener spot. Labuschagne has had an extraordinary run of domestic form since he was dropped for the West Indies series, and has scored five hundreds in domestic cricket since the start of the season.
If Green plays as an all-rounder and edges out Webster, however, there will be room for Weatherald to open and Labuschagne to resume his regular position at three. Equally, if Green doesn't play as an all-rounder, the selectors could delay his return completely until later in the series and play both Weatherald and Labuschagne in the top order.
The middle
Australia's middle-order writes itself. Smith, who will captain the first Test as Pat Cummins continues to recover from injury, will be at four, and Travis Head will follow at five. The next position is dependent on Green's injury, with Webster having slotted in at six in the Caribbean. Webster has made four half centuries in 12 innings in his Test career so far, including on difficult pitches in the Caribbean. He also averages 23.25 with the ball and has taken eight wickets. Nevertheless, if Green is fit and firing, Webster will likely miss out, especially considering his superior record with the ball in Cummins' absence.
Alex Carey as the incumbent wicketkeeper will take the final middle order spot, with Josh Inglis included in the squad as cover.
The bowlers
The bowling attack is the most settled part of the XI. Despite the pre-series blow of Cummins injury, Australia have the luxury of a more than able replacement in Scott Boland. He will come in as a direct swap for Cummins to prop up the Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon four-pronged attack. Australia have also included Brendan Doggett and Sean Abbott in their squad, but realistically they are there as cover in case of a last minute injury.
Predicted: Australia's XI for the first Ashes Test
1. Usman Khawaja
2. Marnus Labuschagne
3. Cameron Green
4. Steve Smith (c)
5. Travis Head
6. Beau Webster
7. Alex Carey (wk)
8. Mitchell Starc
9. Scott Boland
10. Nathan Lyon
11. Josh Hazlewood
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