The much-awaited 2025-26 Ashes starts on Friday in Perth. Beyond the obvious stars, which fringe Australian players could have defining impacts on the series?
Matt Renshaw
Before Australia announced their squad for the first Test, selecting Jake Weatherald as the second opener, Usman Khawaja's Queensland teammate Matt Renshaw had received backing from multiple corners, including Khawaja himself.
"I know if Renshaw is picked that he is in the best space right now to have a crack at Australia again and be ready to score runs," Khawaja had said last month. "Obviously I am a little bit biased because he is my opening partner and a friend of mine, but he's been there and done it."
With Weatherald named in the playing XI for the first Test, Australia have made it clear that they don't want to go in with a stop-gap opener in the form of Marnus Labuschagne like they did in the WTC final at Lord's. If Weatherald succeeds, there would perhaps be no way in for Renshaw. But debuting in a five-Test series can be a daunting affair, as Nathan McSweeney found out last year against India. And when it's an Ashes series in question, the stakes cannot be higher.
England's battery of express quicks will also put pressure on the Australian top order, and if either Weatherald or Khawaja (or both) don't get going in the first couple of Tests, Renshaw could very well be the next opener in. He's been in fine form across formats this season, scoring two hundreds and a fifty in his last three Shield games, and sneaking in a half-century in an ODI against India in between.
He's also admittedly much more sorted now as an individual than he was a few years back. So don't be surprised if Renshaw is blunting England's tired bowlers at the top by the time Melbourne and Sydney roll along.
Also read: Ashes squad analysis: Australia's old guard still looks too good for England
Josh Inglis
Inglis is the second wicketkeeper in Australia's squad behind Alex Carey, but not just that. He has shown over the years and across formats that he's more than capable of playing as a pure batter if need be. While he only has three Tests under his belt and will start the series off as a squad backup, there could be ways in which he finds himself in the midst of it as the weeks go on.
Australia's top three is still vulnerable, even if Labuschagne has regained his form in domestic cricket and they have settled on a specialist opening pair. Any slip ups there and Inglis could be asked to fill in, before reinforcements from outside the squad are called up. To his disadvantage though, Inglis does not have a lot of first-class game time under his belt, having played only one Sheffield Shield game since Australia's West Indies tour in June.
Sean Abbott
Abbott has been around Australian cricket for more than a decade now, having made his white-ball debuts in 2014. But he's yet to play a Test match, despite having come close on a few occasions. The Perth Test would have been his best shot at a Test debut, with Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood out injured, but Abbott himself joined the two stalwarts on the treatment table.
All's not lost though. While Cummins has been bowling full tilt in the nets and Hazlewood's injury seemingly not very severe, both might be back in the XI as soon as the second Test. But if they are not, and if Australia aren't satisfied with the debuting Brendan Doggett's output, Abbott could come into the picture.
There's also the off-chance that Australia decide to go in with four specialist quicks at some point, especially if Cummins and Hazlewood aren't fit and they feel the need to add more fast-bowling cover to the lineup. Abbott, who has taken six wickets at 20 from two Shield matches his season, would fancy his chances in that case. His batting ability in the lower-order would also come in handy.
Brendan Doggett
Doggett's Perth debut will be historic irrespective of how he goes on the field. He will become only the third Indigenous men's Test cricketer for Australia, and will form one half of the first pair of Indigenous cricketers to play in a Test match together. But aside from the cultural and historic significance of his debut, Doggett has a real opportunity to create an impact on the series.
His lucky break might have come on the back of injuries to Cummins and Hazlewood, but he's here because of his relentless exploits in domestic cricket and for Australia A. Last season, Doggett led South Australia to victory in the Sheffield Shield with an 11-wicket haul in the final. He also picked up a six-wicket haul against India A in 2024, and is coming off 13 wickets in his last two Shield games this season, which includes two five-wicket hauls.
He'll also be a bit of an unknown entity for England to deal with. If he keeps his head amidst the chaos of Bazball and an Ashes debut, there's every chance he could go on to play more than one match in the series and have a defining impact.
Mitchell Marsh
Perhaps the most unlikely name on this list, but Mitchell Marsh is a near-omnipresent character in Australian cricket. Even when Australia have two seam-bowling all-rounders in Cameron Green and Beau Webster in the squad, there will be eyes on Marsh as he is reportedly set to make a surprise return to Shield cricket next month.
"We would be comfortable picking someone, and if you want to put a name to it, Mitch Marsh, out of white-ball cricket, if we felt like that was going to benefit the Test team," head coach Andrew McDonald had said last month. While he has not yet been picked in the squad and it's unclear where and how he will fit into an Ashes XI, the wheels for a potential return have been set in motion.
