The Australian cricket team has kickstarted their hunt for the next Test openers with the impending retirement of David Warner during the home series against Pakistan that starts later this year. With another opener Usman Khawaja turning 37 in December, the Aussies will be hoping to line up both their replacements.
Three leading candidates have emerged including Cameron Bancroft, Marcus Harris and Matt Renshaw. While Bancroft last played a Test in 2019 when he was dropped during an Ashes series, Harris’s last Australia appearance was in January 2022 while Renshaw came in as a concussion substitute for Warner during the India tour earlier this year.
Notably, both Harris and Renshaw were part of Australia’s Ashes 2023 squad.
However, it will be Bancroft who gets the first chance to stake a claim after scoring heavily in the Sheffield Shield. He has been named in an Australia A squad for two four-day games against New Zealand A later this month.
Harris and Renshaw aren’t part of the four-day games.
“I think just through (recent) history of selection, that’s probably a fair assumption (on the trio leading the race),” Adam Voges who will coach Australia A during the series said.
“With Harris the spare batter over in the UK, with Renshaw being over there as well and the runs Cameron has scored in the last 12 months, I think all three have put themselves probably at the head of the queue for the vacant spot we know is coming.
“What we do have is these Australia A games plus six games of Shield cricket to be played before we get to the Test summer, and that will be a great opportunity for all three of those guys to really put their hand up and stick their neck out ahead of the others,” he added.
Australia selectors have also named the squad for the one-day series featuring Marnus Labuschagne who was recently snubbed from their preliminary squad for the ODI World Cup.
Australia A four-day squad: Wes Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Jordan Buckingham, Ben Dwarshuis, Caleb Jewell, Campbell Kellaway, Matthew Kelly, Matthew Kuhnemann, Nathan McAndrew, Nathan McSweeney, Joel Paris, Jimmy Peirson, Mitch Perry, Josh Philippe, Mark Steketee, Mitchell Swepson, Tim Ward
Australia A one-day squad: Wes Agar, Ollie Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Liam Hatcher, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Ben McDermott, Todd Murphy, Josh Philippe, Matthew Renshaw, Gurinder Sandhu, Matt Short, Mark Steketee, Will Sutherland, Ashton Turner
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