Australia pull out some selection surprises for Gabba Test
AUSTRALIA have sacked Matthew Renshaw and pulled a selection stunner by plucking Tim Paine from the Tasmanian wilderness to keep in the first Ashes Test.
Cameron Bancroft will make his Test debut against England as an opener, but the earth- shattering shock is that 32- year- old Paine will pull on the gloves despite not keeping for his state all season.
Paine played the last of his four Tests way back in 2010, and after a devastating finger injury in a charity game a few years ago, it seemed as though a promising career had been dashed.
However, the experienced campaigner has leapfrogged Peter Nevill as well as Tassie teammate and Australian incumbent Matthew Wade to keep wicket for Australia in the biggest series of them all.
After a week of toing and froing, the great white hope from last summer Renshaw has fallen by the wayside.
The 21- year- old was the beacon for a new Australia when picked out of the crisis that engulfed the team 12 months ago, but after a lean patch where he has scored just 70 runs in six Shield innings, selectors have decided that he doesn’t have the form to go into battle against Jimmy Anderson.
It’s an enormous blow to the confidence of a young player, but the form of West Australian Bancroft cannot be ignored and he will be given his opportunity in his best position at the top of the order.
Renshaw is far from the first up and coming star to be dropped from the Test side and Australia will be hoping his axing proves a career turning point as it has for the likes of Matthew Hayden and Steve and Mark Waugh before him.
Shaun Marsh is a strong chance to return as Australia’s No. 6, unless selectors decide they want an all- rounder.
From the last Test against Bangladesh in early September, Wade, Glenn Maxwell and possibly Hilton Cartwright are the main casualties.
Australian likely XI for first Ashes Test: David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith ( capt), Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Jackson Bird ( 12th)