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The first Test gets underway in Perth on November 21 and the main dilemma facing Australia’s selectors is who to pick to partner Usman Khawaja at the top of the order. Watch Australia vs India T20I Series LIVE and ad-break free during play only on FOX CRICKET, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. Chief selector George Bailey will reveal the squad at 12pm (AEDT) on the Gold Coast, where Australia is playing India in a T20 international on Thursday. Matthew Renshaw has emerged as a contender to open the batting on the back of solid form for Queensland at Sheffield Shield and domestic 50-over level, while looking composed in Australian colours in the recent ODI series against India. The left-handed Renshaw, 29, has played 14 Tests for Australia since his debut in 2016, most recently on the 2023 tour of India. Jake Weatherald is another leading option to open the batting, scoring 248 runs at an average of 41.33 for Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield. The SMH reported on Tuesday night the race between Renshaw and Weatherald for the opener’s spot was “on a knife’s edge”, while Sam Konstas was resigned to being overlooked. Australian white-ball captain Mitch Marsh was also in the mix after showing strong form in the ODIs against India. After being dropped for the tour of the West Indies earlier this year, Marnus Labuschagne is set to earn a recall scoring five centuries for Queensland in eight innings across the Sheffield Shield and One-Day Cup. All-rounders Cameron Green and Beau Webster are both expected to be named in the squad, although it remains to be seen if both players will fit into Australia’s final XI. Pat Cummins will travel with the squad to Perth as he continues his recovery from a stress fracture in his back, with Steve Smith to act as stand-in captain in his place. Steve Waugh takes swipe at selector Former Test captain Steve Waugh has called on Bailey and fellow Australian selectors Tony Dodemaide and coach Andrew McDonald to make some tough calls. Presenting the Ashes trophy at the SCG on Wednesday, Waugh said it was crucial for the selectors to eventually bring in new players to manage the impending retirements of Australia’s ageing team. “George Bailey’s going to have to make some tough calls and I think in the past, he hasn’t really had the appetite for that at times, so he’s going to have to step up to the plate with the other selectors because it is a time of transition,” Waugh said. “The bowlers are in their 30s and some of the batsmen are getting on as well, but that’s natural for every team. You just want to make sure that three or four players don’t go out at the same time. That leaves a big hole in the team. So they got to just make sure that it is a transition, but not all at once. “I’d like to see the selectors pick the sides, not the players. There’s been a lot of players recently picking sides and saying who should be in the team. That’s the selectors’ job.” Khawaja, who will turn 39 during the Ashes, had backed his Queensland teammate Renshaw, saying: “He’s looked the part, which he always does when he goes to the next level. You feel like he is the one guy who actually belongs at the next level. “Obviously, I am a little biased because he’s a friend of mine and he has been there and done it. He has scored 180 for Australia. He has been in and out of the Australian team, and I think that’s a really good thing.” Konstas set for Ashes snub Sam Konstas has had a horror start to the domestic season for NSW and former Tes Waugh said on Wednesday he feels a “a little bit sorry” for the youngster. Konstas, 20, has made just 122 runs in six Sheffield Shield innings so far this season, a period that was always going to determine whether he held onto his spot for the Ashes. It leaves him 28th on the run-scorers’ list, behind players including Victorian fast bowler Fergus O’Neill, who has scored 157 runs. Having burst onto the Test scene in incredible fashion last summer against India, Konstas was overlooked for the World Test Championship final but was then recalled for the three Tests against the West Indies in the middle of the year. “I feel a little bit sorry for Sam Konstas, who’s been in and out of the side a bit,” he said. “It actually reminds me of myself when I first started playing for Australia. Not fully confident of being in the side and form a bit not quite there. “He’s probably lacking a bit of confidence, so I don’t think they’ll go for him in the first Test (against England).” “At the end of the day, it’s really hard to learn how to play Test cricket while you’re playing Test cricket,” Waugh continued. “That’s what happened to me for a couple of years. I wasn’t really that finished product. “I’d go back to Shield cricket, try and build some long innings, bat for as long as you can, and just get to know your game really well, and then you walk out to play for Australia confident in what you’re doing. “Right now, he’s probably guessing how he should play. “There’s a lot of expectations, so he’s probably not playing with a clear mind.” — With NewsWire
