{"id":478604,"date":"2025-11-05T02:41:44","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T03:41:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=478604"},"modified":"2025-11-05T22:21:58","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T22:21:58","slug":"bailey-dodges-key-questions-as-first-test-conundrum-lingers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=478604","title":{"rendered":"Bailey dodges key questions as first Test conundrum lingers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Australia's squad for the start of the Ashes series has been named<\/a>, with one big-name player axed and a potential debutant in the mix to play in Perth.<\/p>\n

After a lean run of form, Sam Konstas<\/a> has been left out of the 15-man group and will be replaced by Jake Weatherald, who is firming for his first Test match appearance.<\/p>\n

Marnus Labuschagne<\/a> also looks set to regain his spot in the side, but the make-up of the batting order remains somewhat of a mystery with less than three weeks to go.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Waugh takes swipe at selector, reveals his advice for Konstas<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

FORM GUIDE:<\/strong> This 'soft' win created a red-hot favourite in $1m Oaks<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE: \ufeff<\/strong>How looming penalties could hand Piastri championship title<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Wide World of \ufeffSports takes a look at the biggest question marks following the squad announcement for the first Test, which begins on November 21.<\/p>\n

Who will open the batting?\ufeff<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

George Bailey<\/a> and the rest of the selectors have picked a genuine opener in the squad in Weatherald – but is he actually going to play?<\/p>\n

The 31-year-old has been impressive for Tasmania over the past couple of years at Sheffield Shield level and has more than earned the opportunity to debut.<\/p>\n

Weatherald has 13 centuries to his name at first-class level and got the nod over Matt Renshaw in what was believed to be a tight battle for a place in the squad.\ufeff<\/p>\n

However, when asked at a press conference on Wednesday, chief selector Bailey gave no assurances that Weatherald was guaranteed the opening spot.<\/p>\n

"Not confirmed in the XI," he said.<\/p>\n

"What's impressed us about Jake, if you look at his performance over 18 or 24 months, it has been really solid. There's a method there that we like and is complementary to those other players around him in the squad.<\/p>\n

"He scores at a good rate, the way he goes about building his innings is impressive."\u00a0<\/p>\n

\ufeffWith no guarantees surrounding Weatherald, the other man who could possibly open up alongside Usman Khawaja is his Queensland teammate Labuschagne.<\/p>\n

Bailey kept his cards close to his chest when the option of Labuschagne opening was suggested, despite the right-hander clearly doing his best work at No.3 in the past.\ufeff<\/p>\n

\"Marnus<\/p>\n

\ufeff"If required, I think he can do it," Bailey said.<\/p>\n

"As I think I've said in the past, I'm confident that most players in Australia who bat in the top three can have the capability of opening."\u00a0<\/p>\n

Labuschagne has been in brilliant form to kick off the domestic season and looks to have rediscovered his mojo at the perfect time ahead of the five-game series against England.<\/p>\n

Bailey believes the 31-year-old has got back to basics and it's resulted in success, but wouldn't make a call on where he, Weatherald or anyone else would bat.<\/p>\n

"They might be the two things – scoring runs and having fun," he said.<\/p>\n

"What we've seen is his runs, time at the crease and there's an energy and method that is really attractive. We don't need to see any more, he is in the squad.<\/p>\n

"I appreciate that everyone wants the XI, but that's the squad. We don't necessarily need to name the team until the coin goes up and the captain hands the sheet over."\u00a0\ufeff<\/p>\n

Does Cameron Green need to bowl? \ufeff<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Rolling directly on from the \ufeffopening debate is what the status of Cameron Green<\/a> is and where that leaves the talented all-rounder for what would be his home Test.<\/p>\n

The 26-year-old is expected to bowl for Western Australia in the next round of Shield cricket and if he gets through unscathed, appears to be a lock for the Aussie XI.<\/p>\n

If he is fit to both bat and bowl, Green could slide back down to No.6 and that would see Weatherald open, Labuschagne bat at three and Beau Webster miss out.\ufeff<\/p>\n

But what if Green is only able to fulfil batting duties?<\/p>\n

"Yeah, well he has done [that] – but I don't know, I'm hoping that won't be an issue because he will return to the bowling crease," Bailey said.<\/p>\n

"It's been a slow and steady and very deliberate build-up. We're confident that will continue and we will get good information from this next round of Shield cricket."<\/p>\n

The chief selector is hopeful Green can get through 15 or 20 overs for WA, which would be enough to satisfy Australia's needs in picking him as an all-rounder.<\/p>\n

Even then, Green and Webster could still play together according to Bailey, giving the hosts six possible options to take down England's aggressive batting lineup. \ufeff<\/p>\n

"They have played together in the past, so there's no reason why [they can't]," he said.<\/p>\n

"Your all-rounder doesn't need to be in a position to bowl 30 or 40 overs hopefully and certainly hasn't been historically for us over the last little bit."\u00a0<\/p>\n

What's next for Sam Konstas? \ufeff<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Almost everybody knew from the outside looking in that the 20-year-old's initial stint in the Test arena was going to come to an end before the Ashes.<\/p>\n

But after such a promising start, where does Konstas go next?<\/p>\n

With so much cricket left ahead of him, there is no major rush to keep the Sutherland product in the team if he's not scoring runs and another opportunity will arise.<\/p>\n

Steve Waugh's advice was to keep it simple and only listen to a small number of voices<\/a> and it was a similar line of thinking from Bailey – the man who ultimately axed him.<\/p>\n

"I feel for Sammy – at the moment, if he farts it's a headline," he said.<\/p>\n

"There's a handful of young guys his age playing Shield cricket around the country and they are all learning and Sammy is no different to that – he just happens to be doing it under what seems to be immense scrutiny at the moment.<\/p>\n

\"Smith's<\/p>\n

"We really like him, there's been investment. He has been around Boxing Day Tests, he's been on subcontinent tours, he's been on MRF and Aussie A tours. We like the skillset there and are confident that over the long run, it will continue to build out.<\/p>\n

"No one's passage through their career is linear – but the message is just to keep it simple, score runs and bat for as long and helpful a way as you can for NSW."\u00a0\ufeff<\/p>\n

There will likely be a spot open back up next year, with this summer looming as Khawaja's last in the Test arena after a rollercoaster career.<\/p>\n

If he can compile runs for NSW and finetune areas of his game, there is no reason why Konstas shouldn't be back in the frame for national selection in 2026 or even later in the Ashes series.\ufeff<\/p>\n

When will Pat Cummins return from injury?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"Australian<\/p>\n

The skipper \ufeffdefinitely won't play the first Test at Optus Stadium<\/a> – that much we already know and found out well in advance.<\/p>\n

Cummins is recovering from a stress injury to his back, but is expected to still play a prominent role in the series\ufeff as the Aussies look to retain the urn.<\/p>\n

Bailey revealed that could come as early as the second match in Brisbane, which will be the pink-ball Test this summer as opposed to in Adelaide.<\/p>\n

"Patty will be with us in Perth as he continues to build, so hopefully there's an injection of him into the squad at some point," he said.<\/p>\n

"He bowled yesterday [Tuesday], he will bowl again today. From all reports, that's still tracking and hopefully second [Test] and if not second, hopefully the third."<\/p>\n

In his absence, Scott Boland will fill in as the third seamer, with both Sean Abbott and Brendan Doggett selected in the wider squad as back-up options.\u00a0\ufeff<\/p>\n

\ufeffWhere does Mitchell Marsh's Test career stand?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

He said weeks ago that his plan was to sink beers from the crowd and watch his former teammates go about their business – but then some reports indicated that Mitchell Marsh was in the frame for selection to play at his home ground.<\/p>\n

"That was a tricky one – we went to the ICC and the issue there was that they wouldn't let the umpires take breathalysers out onto the field," Bailey joked.<\/p>\n

"If he was going to be six or eight beers deep by the time the first ball was bowled, it was going to make it tricky."<\/p>\n

But when quizzed as to whether the selectors were weighing up picking Marsh and bringing him back in – potentially as an opener – Bailey conceded it was an option.<\/p>\n

"Not toyed with it, it's a discussion and I think everything that has been said about it holds true," the former Test batter said.<\/p>\n

"He's got a game that could provide an injection and a different look at how you might attack it, but it's not the path we're going down to start the series.<\/p>\n

"What it looks like later on, we will see."<\/p>\n

Marsh hasn't played at Test level since Boxing Day last summer against India and at 34 years of age, time is probably starting to run out for a recall.<\/p>\n

If it gets to a state during the Ashes where the hosts need a genuine game-breaker, a little bit of X-factor and a real character amongst the group though, Marsh could very easily fill a role in the batting order and provide some spark against England.\ufeff<\/p>\n

\"Sam<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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