Selectors cast net wide for Ashes bats

MARCUS Harris appears in the box seat to open in the Ashes but selectors will have the chance to look at 16 hopefuls in England before settling on Australia’s batting line-up.

Selectors yesterday revealed their squads for the one-day and four-day Australia A tours of England, but opted to leave the majority of County players with their clubs in the lead-up to the Ashes.

In all, 16 Australian batsmen will be given their chance to press their claims for Ashes berths, across the one-day World Cup, County cricket and Australia A games.

Cameron Bancroft will be forced to do it the hard way while still captaining Durham, while Matt Renshaw (Somerset) and incumbents Joe Burns (Lancashire) and Marnus Labuschagne (Glamorgan) will also stay in the County Championship.

Harris — who is favoured to partner David Warner in the Ashes — is then the only opener in the Australia A squad, where Kurtis Patterson, Will Pucovski, Travis Head, Peter Handscomb and Mitch Marsh will all fight for Ashes spots.

Matthew Wade has also been given a shot at returning to the Test team through the Australia A squad.

Warner, Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja, Marcus Stoinis and Shaun Marsh will then also feature in the World Cup that runs concurrently.

From that, selectors will then announce Australian and Australia A squads to play in a tour match beginning July 23 in Hampshire, before the final Ashes squad is announced following that and just days before the first Test.

The Australia A sides will play five one-dayers against England County teams in June and July, while the four-day squad then faces Sussex and the England Lions.

Australia’s bowling line-up for the Ashes is far clearer, with Josh Hazlewood left to return from a back injury in the A squads.