Australia announce squad for first Ashes Test — Marnus Labuschagne returns, while young batter Sam Konstas misses out.
Australia have announced their 15-member squad for the opening Ashes 2025/26 Test, and it features a few notable changes. Sam Konstas has been dropped, while Tasmania opener Jake Weatherald has received his first international call-up, giving the selectors fresh options at the top. The side will also be without their leader, Pat Cummins, for the November 21 opener as he continues to recover from a lumbar stress injury.
Marnus Labuschagne is set to return to the XI after being dropped against West Indies earlier this year, but his exact batting position remains uncertain. How Cameron Green is deployed as an all-rounder could ultimately determine where the Queensland batter slots into the lineup.
Australia’s squad for first Ashes 2025/26 Test in Perth: Steven Smith (captain), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster.
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Australia turn to Jake Weatherald to open new chapter
The Australia selectors have been desperate to find a solution at the top of the order since David Warner’s retirement. Weatherald, who finished the Sheffield Shield 2024/25 as the leading run-getter, could be the solution. The southpaw collected 906 runs in 18 innings at an average of 50.33 and a strike rate of 68.27. He also bagged three fifties and three centuries with the best score of 186.
Usman Khawaja will be the only player of the squad who won’t feature in any upcoming Shield rounds. Australia’s chairman of selectors, George Bailey, revealed that Khawaja had picked up a minor ‘adductor strain’ in the most recent game.
“I don’t think there’s any one innings, but there’s been a good consistency, I think, in the way that he (Weatherald) approaches his batting. I think he’s in a really clear place. We don’t see any sort of shifting innings to innings from the way he goes about it. So that says to me that he’s someone who has a clear understanding of the way they want to play and the way they feel like they’ll get the best performances out of themselves,” Bailey said in the press conference.
Steven Smith will lead the national side in Cummins’ absence. The latter will travel to Perth with the group and continue to build up his bowling loads to be fit for the second Test in Brisbane. Meanwhile, Labuschagne is most likely to bat at number three. The right-handed batter has registered 341 runs in the Sheffield Shield 2025/26 in four innings with two centuries.
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Australia keep both Beau Webster & Cameron Green
Green and fellow all-rounder, Beau Webster, have been named in the squad. However, it remains to be seen whether both play in the same XI as they have done in their last four Tests. Green is expected to bowl 15 to 20 overs for Western Australia in the next Shield game on November 11. Bailey noted that they would keep a close eye on the lanky pacer’s progress.
“Cam Green’s bowling is certainly one to watch. And then I think just by virtue of the fact that there’s 14 guys out of your 15-man squad that are playing Shield cricket, just get through the game and see how everyone’s pulled up. I think it’s probably as much just a physical check-in,” Bailey explained.
On the wicket-keeping front, Josh Inglis has been included as the reserve keeper but can fill the role of a reserve batter if required. He kept wickets in Jamaica during Australia’s D/N Test when Alex Carey was subbed out with a concussion. Inglis will play the fourth Shield round game for WA against Queensland on November 11.
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Mitchell Starc to lead Australia’s bowling attack
Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland, and Nathan Lyon are set to be Australia’s four-man bowling attack, along with at least one all-rounder. Lyon will return to the eleven after missing the Jamaica Test where the management opted for four quicks.
Brendan Doggett and Sean Aboott have been named as the reserve fast bowlers. The former returns to the squad after missing the Caribbean trip due to a hip injury. He picked up seven wickets in his only fixture of the ongoing Shield season against Western Australia.
There is no room for Michael Neser despite his excellent start of 11 wickets in the first two Shield games on batting-friendly surfaces. However, he could come into the picture in the later part of the series. “He (Neser) still is in the frame absolutely. The bowling conversation is just complementary skill sets for what we think we may need should there be any moving parts for Perth,” Bailey noted.
The Ashes 2025/26 opener starts on November 21 at the Optus Stadium in Perth, where England will aim to overturn a decade-long trend: they haven’t won a Test in Australia since 2013.
SQUAD: 15 of the very best vying for a spot in our first men's #Ashes XI.
— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) November 5, 2025
Bring on November 21! pic.twitter.com/26WY0zmzKr
Australia’s potential XI for first Ashes 2025/26 Test: Usman Khawaja/Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Steven Smith (c), Travis Head, Alex Carey (wk.), Beau Webster, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland.
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