Pacemen James Pattinson and Peter Siddle recalled
Saturday 27 July 2019 10:21, UK
Cameron Bancroft has been named in the Australia squad for the upcoming Ashes series against England.
David Warner and Steve Smith have also been selected - meaning all three players banned for their part in the ball-tampering scandal are set to return to Test cricket this summer.
The trio served suspensions after they were involved in a plot to use sandpaper on the ball in a Test match against South Africa in March 2018.
National selector Trevor Hohns said: "David Warner, Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft have forced their way back into the Test squad through the excellence of their recent performances.
"David and Steve also have the advantage of being proven players at Test level while Cameron has produced impressive numbers for county side Durham this season.
"His innings in the intra-squad match in Southampton (93 not out for a Graame Hick XII) on a tough pitch was outstanding and showed his quality."
There are recalls for fast bowlers James Pattinson and Peter Siddle, while Josh Hazlewood is back in the squad following his recent back injury.
Seamer Michael Neser is the surprise name in the squad but there is no specialist second spinner behind the experienced Nathan Lyon - although batsman Marnus Labuschagne can bowl leg-spin.
Hohns said: "We have opted to select one frontline spinner in Nathan Lyon.
"We have faith in his ability, we know our strength lies in our pace attack and we have Marnus Labuschagne's leg-spin as another spin option, as he has bowled almost 200 overs for county side Glamorgan in first-class cricket this season."
Batsman-wicketkeeper Matthew Wade is also named in the 17-man squad after two years away from the Test arena, having scored plenty of runs of late, including a century against England Lions last week.
But there is no place for Alex Carey, who kept for Australia at the recent World Cup and performed so well he was named in the team of the tournament.
Hohns said: "We believe the squad is an excellent blend of high-quality batsmen and top-class fast bowlers, plus Nathan Lyon, who we regard as the world's best off-spinner in all conditions.
"It is a good mix of all the talents.
"We have not won an Ashes series in the United Kingdom since 2001 but we are confident that this group of players can break that cycle and ensure we retain the urn that we won at home in the summer of 2017-18."
The five-match series gets underway at Edgbaston on Thursday.
Australia squad: Tim Paine (captain), Cameron Bancroft, Patrick Cummins, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner
Watch every ball of the 2019 Ashes live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from Thursday, August 1.
