Follow UsThe biggest news from the Australian squad selection, made on November 5 (Wednesday), for the first Ashes Test, which is 16 days away, scheduled to begin on November 21 in Perth, was the inclusion of Marnus Labuschagne back into the senior men’s team.
Labuschagne, who endured a very rough patch between 2023 and 2025, scoring only 1,364 runs across 49 innings of 26 Tests at a lowly average of 31, got his act together after he was dropped for the West Indies tour.
In the 2025-26 Australian domestic season, the South Africa-born player has scored five centuries in his last seven games across List A and first-class formats. He thereby shoved the door to get selected, which, unfortunately, Sam Konstas was unable to do.
Konstas, who was drafted into the Australian squad during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25, had a horrid time in the Caribbean, scoring only 50 runs across six innings. Even in the domestic season, he has had a tough time.
Apart from a century against India A in a first-class game in Lucknow, Konstas has not crossed the 50-run mark even once in his last 10 competitive games. Therefore, in place of Konstas, Jake Weatherald has been called up to the national side on the back of a fantastic Sheffield Shield 2024-25, where he scored 906 runs in 18 innings at an average of more than 50.
The team will be led by Steve Smith, who will be standing in for regular skipper Pat Cummins as the latter was ruled out of the first game with an injury.
Australia's First Test squad: Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster.
Head of the selection committee, former captain George Bailey, speaking about the first Test squad, said, "The squad gives us good balance and, with 14 of those chosen playing the next round of Sheffield Shield [barring Inglis], we will continue to gather information as we move closer to the start of the first Test."