Ashes: Australia name Travis Head and Mitchell Starc in team for first Test

Australia is set to name their Ashes squad for the first Test against England in Brisbane, with Travis Head and Mitchell Starc included. It’s been a disappointing series for Australia so far, but the inclusion of two highly-rated batsmen means they have nothing to lose when play begins on Thursday morning.

Ashes is an annual cricket test match played between Australia and England. The 2019 Ashes will be the first time that Travis Head and Mitchell Starc have been included in the Australian team.

Alex Carey will replace Tim Paine at the crease and make his Test debut in Brisbane, as predicted.

Travis Head, a middle-order batsman, and Mitchell Starc, a left-arm paceman, have been chosen in Australia’s squad for the first Ashes Test against England, which begins on Wednesday in Brisbane.

Head has beaten off opposition from Usman Khawaja to bat at number five in Tests, averaging 39.8 runs per innings.

Jhye Richardson is ahead of Starc, a 31-year-old fast bowler with 255 Test wickets at an average of 27.6.

Alex Carey will make his Test debut behind the stumps, as predicted.

David Warner, Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood are the Australian lineup for the first Test.

Australia’s coach, Justin Langer, had said that the squad would not be named until the first day of the match, however new captain Pat Cummins disclosed the lineup during a pre-series media event in the early hours of Sunday morning UK time.

Marcus Harris starts with David Warner following Will Pucovski’s concussion, while Carey replaces Tim Paine, who stepped out of the team after resigned from the captaincy over a previous inquiry into sexually graphic messages sent to a female coworker.

The two most important decisions were whether Head or Khawaja would bat at five and whether Starc would maintain his spot, with Australia’s Shane Warne among those advocating for him to be droppedexternal-link.

In the Sheffield Shield this season, Head has scored 394 runs at 49.25 with two centuries, including one against Queensland, while Khawaja has scored 460 runs at 65.71 with two hundreds.

Left-hander Usman Khawaja has only averaged 29 in 12 Tests against England, prompting the selectors to go with Head, who was left out of Australia’s series loss to India last winter.

“It was a close one,” Cummins, who succeeds Paine as captain, said. They’re both excellent choices. Ussie’s experience is invaluable, and we are fortunate to have him in the team, but Trav has been a key player for us in recent years.

“He’s gone overseas and churned out runs in England and here in Australia, and we think he’s ready to go.”

Starc, who has only taken three wickets at an average of 96.66 in two Tests this year, beat Richardson, who has taken 15 wickets in his previous two Sheffield Shield matches, including eight at the Gabba last month.

Cummins, who will become Australia’s first fast bowler since the 1950s, has said that he would most likely not use the new ball in this series.

“The honest answer is no. I won’t be the first to speak, but we’ve been pretty flexible in previous years, depending on the scenario “he said

“I haven’t made up my mind, but I believe Joshy [Hazlewood] and Starcy will be the first to speak out, with me following closely after. That might change in the future. I could feel like having a crack if it’s late in the day and there are just a handful of overs left, but it’s quite fluid.”

At the same press conference, England captain Joe Root declined to select his lineup, stating, “All possibilities are on the table, we’ll see closer to the game how the forecast and the ground evolves.”

Root, who is captaining England for the third time against Australia, indicated left-arm spinner Jack Leach might play, citing the Gabba as a “excellent site to bowl spin.”

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The “Mitchell Starc” is an Australian cricketer. He is a part of the Ashes team that will be playing against England in the first Test match. Reference: mitchell starc.

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