Australian team announces squad ahead of the first Ashes Test

Putting all the controversies to bed, the Australian Cricket team has announced their squad for the first Ashes Test. The stepping down of Tim Paine from the position of Test Captain caused a lot of stir in Australian Cricket. They somehow managed to move away from it by appointing Pat Cummins as their new captain. Even Steve Smith returned to the leadership unit after three years of exile.

There was a considerable debate building up all summer about whether Usman Khwaja will make a comeback to the team after having a great outing in the Sheffield Shield. But that did not turn out to be the case, as Travis Head, the regular number five batter in the team, too scored some excellent scores in the same tournament to retain his place in the team.

Another brooding issue in Australian cricket was the place of Mitchell Starc in the squad. Earlier Australian bowling legend Shane Warne backed Jhye Richardson, another left-handed bowler, over Starc after Richarson picked up 23 wickets in his 4 Sheffield games.

However, the Australian management has bestowed their faith in Starc for the first test. He will bowling alongside the familiar duo of Hazlewood and Cummins, the captain.

Here is the entire Australian squad for the first match: David Warner, Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, and Josh Hazlewood.