Australia announce squad for Test series against Pakistan
Australia have announced their squad for the Test series against Pakistan next month. The side will be captained by Tim Paine and has as many as five uncapped players in the 15-man squad.
The two-match series, set to be played in the United Arab Emirates, will see the comeback of pacer Peter Siddle for Australia, who last played a Test two years ago against South Africa. It also marks the recall of spinner Ashton Agar, whose last Test for Australia was against Bangladesh in 2017.
Travis Head, who plays limited-overs cricket but hasn't represented Australia in whites, makes it to the squad. Head was the captain of the Australia A side that played the Quadrangular List A series in India
Attacking batsman Glenn Maxwell, along with Joe Burns and Peter Handscomb, does not make the cut.
"Joe (Burns), Peter (Handscomb) and Glenn (Maxwell) were players we discussed when selecting the batting group, but we had to take into account the conditions and competition we are set to face in the upcoming series," selector Trevor Hohns said in a statement.
"All three remain on our radar for Test cricket, but we want them to perform for their states and continue to push their case ahead of what is going to be a big Australian summer."
The selectors have also included limited-overs mainstay Aaron Finch in the Test setup.
"Aaron is in sensational form, and this is the right time to give him a chance to play Test cricket. He has performed well in the Sheffield Shield in recent seasons, and brings added experience and leadership to this group", Hohns said.
Here's the complete squad:
Tim Paine (c), Ashton Agar, Brendan Doggett, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Michael Neser, Matt Renshaw, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc.