Paine, Marsh, Bancroft in Australia's Ashes squad

Tim Paine, Cameron Bancroft and Shaun Marsh will replace Matthew Wade, Matt Renshaw and Glen Maxwell in Australia’s Ashes Test team to face England at the Gabba after the national selectors confirmed their squad on Friday morning.

The panel have also included the South Australian seam and swing bowler Chadd Sayers in a 13-man group, which will now assemble in Brisbane to prepare. Paine’s selection for his first Test match in more than seven years – and after he played as a batsman alongside Wade this week for Tasmania – is the headline move, while the decisions to reinstate Marsh and drop Renshaw will also generate heated debate.

“Tim was identified as an international player a long time ago and has always been renowned as a very good gloveman, also performing well for us whenever he has represented Australia in any format,” selection chairman Trevor Hohns said. “His batting form in recent outings for the Cricket Australia XI and Tasmania has been good.

“Matt Wade has been left out of the squad following some inconsistent performances with the gloves and lack of form with the bat. Unfortunately his run of performances did not improve in the early rounds of Sheffield Shield and we have opted to make a change.”

“We still view Matthew as a player of immense talent, but he is out of form at the moment and we don’t feel an Ashes Test match is the best place for him to find form. We would like him to go back to first-class cricket and push his name forward with the selection panel through big runs.”

Hohns said that Bancroft had demanded his spot through weight of runs in recent weeks. “Cameron has been a player of interest to us for some time now, having been unlucky to miss out on the Test tour to Bangladesh that was cancelled in 2015,” Hohns said. “He is a very talented and tough cricketer who shows a good temperament for Test cricket.

“He has thoroughly earned and deserves his call-up following some outstanding performances in the early rounds of the Sheffield Shield competition this season. Shaun is playing very well at the moment, having scored consistently in the One-Day Cup and first three rounds of the Sheffield Shield competition. He is a versatile player who can slot in anywhere in the batting order and will add valuable experience to the batting line-up.”

Sayers, meanwhile, looks a likely inclusion for the second Test of the series in Adelaide, where he is a noted exponent of moving the pink ball under lights. “Chadd’s inclusion in the squad is with a view to the Adelaide Test and the conditions that we may see there,” Hohns said. “He swings the ball with good control and knows the conditions well at his home ground. He gives us this bowling option if required.”

Source: ESPN Crickinfo

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