Australia to recall Tim Paine and snub Peter Nevill for opening Ashes Test, reports claim
Friday 17 November 2017 09:04, UK
Australian selectors are set to snub Peter Nevill and recall Tim Paine as wicket-keeper for the opening Ashes Test in Brisbane, according to reports in Australia.
Nevill is expected to be a shock omission from Australia's team for the first Test at the Gabba, which gets underway on November 23, while Matt Renshaw will also be dropped in order to make way for in-form opener Cameron Bancroft.
"England can have a balanced team with four seamers and Ali – but Australia haven’t got that. You are almost having a stab in the dark as to who will come in at No 6 and as wicketkeeper, so they have got more problems than England."
According to reports in The Sydney Morning Herald, Paine will take the gloves after fending off competition from Matthew Wade and Nevill, who was dropped after a series defeat to South Africa last year.
The selection of 32-year-old Paine, who has played just four Tests for Australia - the last coming against India in 2010 - is unexpected considering he has played just one Sheffield Shield match for Tasmania this season, during which his team-mate Wade kept wicket.
Meanwhile, England-born Renshaw is set to be dropped in order to accommodate uncapped opener Bancroft as part of a new-look Australia line-up.
"Bancroft has done the best of the Australian batsmen by a mile – but he only got one hundred in county cricket last year for Gloucestershire in Division Two so England won’t be fearing him."
Renshaw has scored just 70 runs in his last three matches for Queensland in the Sheffield Shield, Australia's domestic four-day competition, while Bancroft has 442 runs to his name for Western Australia.
Elsewhere, Shaun Marsh could earn a recall after losing his Cricket Australia contract during the winter, as Australian selectors look to find a solution to their problem at No 6.
Australia (probable squad): David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Jackson Bird.
