Australia has named its 17-man squad for its tour of England, which will include the ICC World Test Championship final against India and a five-Test Ashes series.
Batting great David Warner has survived the axe despite calls for his head at the top of the order after a recent run of poor form.
Warner has scored only one century in the last three years and missed the remaining two matches of the India tour earlier this year with a concussion and fractured elbow.
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The services of Marcus Harris, Josh Inglis and Mitchell Marsh have been recalled for the the first three matches abroad.
Ashton Agar, Peter Handscomb, Mitchell Swepson and Matt Kuhnemann were not retained from the squad that toured India.
Bowler Lance Morris has been ruled out of the squad with injury.
Australian cricket’s chair of selectors George Bailey explained that the changes largely hinge on dismantling England’s attacking game on quicker pitches.
“The World Test Championship is the culmination of more than two years of consistent performance at Test level by the team and the individuals involved, leading into an Ashes series which is always highly anticipated,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The UK is a very different assignment from our most recent tour of India and some of the changes are based upon the conditions we are anticipating.
“Marcus, Josh and Mitch return to the squad and provide valuable depth and flexibility within their respective skillsets.
“We see value in revisiting the squad following the second Ashes Test given the short turnaround between the WTC final and the first Ashes Test, along with the length of the tour.”
Australian men’s World Test Championship and Ashes squad:
Pat Cummins (c)
Scott Boland
Alex Carey
Cameron Green
Marcus Harris
Josh Hazlewood
Travis Head
Josh Inglis
Usman Khawaja
Marnus Labuschagne
Nathan Lyon
Mitchell Marsh
Todd Murphy
Matthew Renshaw
Steve Smith (vc)
Mitchell Starc
David Warner
A 15-player squad for the ICC World Test Championship final will be named on May 28.
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