Australia’s 15-man Ashes squad has been revealed just over two weeks out from the first Test in Perth, as the country gets their first idea of who will partner Usman Khawaja at the top of the order.
The fitness of Cameron Green looks set to dictate who bats where come November 21, as he has only bowled at the first-class level once this spring.
Additionally, a trio of uncapped players are in with a shot of a Test debut in Perth, while a quartet of domestic stars can consider themselves unlucky with their snubbing from the squad.

WINNERS
MARNUS LABUSCHAGNE
As big a winner as there could be heading into the Ashes. The right-handed Queenslander couldn’t have done any more to win his way back into Australia’s starting XI after missing out on their recent tour of the West Indies. Five hundred across eight innings at the domestic level this spring has cemented his place back into the top order — and now only one question remains. Will he open or bat first drop? Labuschagne has only opened once for Australia, in what was his most recent Test. The 31-year-old scored 17 and 22 in their World Test Championship Final loss against South Africa back in June before being omitted. The right-hander hasn’t been opening for Queensland this spring, and while Jake Weatherald was also named in the 15-man squad, there is still a possibility he ends up opening alongside fellow statesman Usman Khawaja. Where he lands is expected to hinge almost certainly on whether both Cam Green and Beau Webster play on the same side.

JAKE WEATHERALD
The initial winner of Australia’s four-horse opening race! Weatherald currently sits as the Shield’s sixth-highest run-scorer this spring, hitting 248 runs at an average of 41.33. A triple-figure score has eluded the 31-year-old so far this campaign, but three half-centuries show that he’s been more than capable of getting himself in. It’s also worth noting that of the top 52 run-getters in the Shield this season, only Marnus Labuschagne has a higher strike rate or more boundaries. It does sit as surprising to some that the uncapped left-hander was picked over Matthew Renshaw, but that’s certainly not to say he hasn’t earned his place after a stellar 18 months for Tasmania. It’s easy to forget Weatherald was the Shield’s leading run-scorer with 908 runs at an average of 50.33 only last summer.

BRENDAN DOGGETT
South Australia’s leading pace bowler has been around the international red-ball set-up for the best part of 12 months now, and his performances on either side of his stints as a reserve have supported his claim for a Test cap. A minor hamstring injury during a one-day domestic match in September interrupted his start to the Sheffield Shield season, but a six-wicket haul upon his return against Western Australia couldn’t have come at a better time. The gut feel right now suggests that he could be the first in line for a call-up ahead of Sean Abbott, should one of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood or Scott Boland fall with injury before Pat Cummins’ return.

SEAN ABBOTT
The second of Australia’s two reserve quicks for the first Test in Perth. Abbott has been around the international set-up for far longer than his counterpart, Brendan Doggett, and while he doesn’t yet have Test experience, he does have 57 games at the top level under his belt in white-ball cricket. Abbott picked up 1/29 in his sole Sheffield Shield outing this season, before being forced out of the remainder of the match with split webbing in his hand. His outstanding fielding and handy lower-order batting are what would set him apart from Doggett, however, er purely as a bowler across the last two Sheffield Shield, the South Australian has given him a good run for his money.

JOSH INGLIS
Australia’s reserve wicketkeeper will travel to Perth ahead of the first Test not just on standby to take the gloves, but the English-born star could also slot into Australia’s middle-order in case of an emergency. The 30-year-old Western Australian made his long-awaited Test debut against Sri Lanka in January this year, blazing a century quicker than a run-a-ball in a whirlwind knock. Inglis then, and for the rest of the series, played solely as a batter before losing his place in the starting XI after the first of three tests in the West Indies. It goes without saying that Inglis can also act as a like-for-like replacement for Alex Carey, in any case, the preferred gloveman sustains a concussion.

LOSERS
MATTHEW RENSHAW
Comfortably the biggest snubbing from Australia’s 15-man squad for the Ashes. The 29-year-old has played 14 Tests since his debut all the way back in 2016, but hasn’t featured at the top red-ball level since February of 2023. A recognised figure throughout the international dressing room and also a handy catcher, Renshaw will feel very hard done by to miss out. He has only batted twice across his two first-class games for Queensland so far this season before being called up to Australia’s ODI side against India, but did hit 128 in one of them against Tasmania this time last month. Should Weatherald be cracked and not deliver, Renshaw could still be called upon for the back half of the series, but for now, it’s back to making more runs at the first-class level.

SAM KONSTAS
The 20-year-old wunderkind was unfortunately at long odds to retain his spot in Australia’s Test squad, let alone the starting XI. After missing out on selection in June’s World Test Championship Final, the New South Welshmen played all three of Australia’s Tests against the West Indies through the winter, but failed to fire. Konstas managed just 50 runs from six innings in the Caribbean at an average of 8.33, leaving his spot in the national side in jeopardy heading into this summer. The flamboyant right-hander has since hit just the one half-century in red-ball cricket this spring for NSW at an average just over 20, before Chairman of Selectors George Bailey confirmed his omission for the first part of this Ashes series. There is little doubt his dropping will merely be a small bump in the road of a long, successful career, but there aren’t many surprises here as selectors turn towards a more experienced candidate.

MICHAEL NESER
A perennial reserve fast bowler for the international Test side, Michael Neser can once again consider himself unlucky not to receive a call-up to Australia’s squad. From his two Shield matches so far this season, the 35-year-old has jagged 11 wickets at an average of 21.27, inclusive of two four-wicket hauls. They are stat lines we’ve come to expect of the Queenslander, funnily enough, made his international red-ball debut against the Poms back in 2021. Both tests next to his name have come in Adelaide with a pink ball under lights, so it wouldn’t come as a surprise if the star is recalled for the second or third Test, should Cummins or one of the other quicks be sidelined with injury. In other words, his omission from the initial squad doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t play a role against England this summer, given how regularly Australia’s quicks could be managed amid a five-Test summer.

FERGUS O’NEILL
Australia’s domestic cricket cult hero can genuinely consider himself unlucky not to be a part of the initial squad. It’s a legitimate argument to suggest no player has dominated the country’s domestic cricket ranks more than these last two years. His first-class record is absolutely outstanding at just 24 years of age, yielding 146 red-ball wickets at an average of just 20.62. Crucially, O’Neill has also shown himself to be more than handy with the bat for Victoria, with three fifties and over 1,000 runs next to his name from 37 matches. He would’ve been a bolter of sorts to make the final cut, sure, but very few would have been more deserving of a call-up. What’s more, he looms as a major player when Australia returns to England in 2027.