As forecast,Warner was named in Australia’s 17-man Ashes squad on Wednesday morning,alongside Marsh,plus spare batters Marcus Harris and Matthew Renshaw.
Cameron Green blasts an incredible unbeaten fifty in the IPL.
Michael Neser was left out of the squad,while Lance Morris has a back injury. Bailey cofirmed selectors are more likely to keep the latter fresh for the home summer.
There is still a major cloud over Warner’s future in the Test set-up,given he has averaged 26 in his past 14 Tests and from 24 innings in that period.
Warner’s rotten run in the 2019 England tour — where he made 95 runs from 10 innings — has not been forgotten.
The Australian veteran is expected to retain his spot at the top of the order for Australia’s World Test Championship final against India,starting June 7 at the Oval.
However,Bailey was reluctant to elaborate on what selectors plan to do with Warner beyond that.
Bailey was asked if Warner was a lock to open the batting against England in the first Test at Edgbaston. His response was hardly a ringing endorsement of the 103-Test stalwart.
“I think — and not specifically to Dave — I think we’ll just get through that Test Championship … and then have a look at what that looks like when we get there,” Bailey said. “[It is] different opposition and different surface in terms of going from The Oval to start the Ashes. We’ll work through that.
“The conversations with Dave are like any of the senior players. They’re excited. It’s a highly anticipated series. He’s invested and wants to make sure he helps us finish off what’s been a really consistent couple of years on the Test front by winning the World Test Championship and then shift that focus really quickly to the Ashes.”
Mitch Marsh,David Warner and Matt Renshaw have all booked their tickets to the UK.Getty
Bailey wouldn’t be drawn on whether flatter pitches,as England have reportedly requested,would help Warner’s chances of selection.
“I saw that headline. We’ll wait and see what the conditions hold once we get there,” Bailey said.
The big winner of the squad announcement is Marsh,who was given the nod due to his ability to cover if Green is unable to play every Test.
Marsh is back bowling after an ankle injury and will be hoping to feature in his first Test since the final match of the 2019 Ashes series where he took match figures of 7-86.
Mitch Marsh took seven wickets in the final Ashes Test in England four years ago.AP
“Great to have Mitch back,” Bailey said. “He hasn’t really had the opportunity to be bowling in the longer format for some time. The operation he had just prior to Christmas has worked really well. We’re confident we can get him back and up available as an all-rounder.
“Not having Greeny during part of the India series highlighted to us the value of having that as a back-up. Mitch has performed well in the UK in the past and we think he can add some real value.”
With three set frontline quicks — in captain Pat Cummins,Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood — plus Travis Head secure in the order at No.5,Marsh will find it hard to squeeze into the XI if Green is fit and firing.
Interestingly,Bailey said Marsh wasn’t just all-rounder cover and that the pair could “absolutely” play together.
“That’s on the cards,” Bailey said. “It’d be exciting times if you could start to squeeze two or three all-rounders into your top six if they were batting well enough.”
Despite making just four runs from three innings during the recent India series,Renshaw did his chances of selection no harm with hundreds in consecutive Australia A matches against New Zealand A at the top of the order.
Renshaw and Harris are waiting in the wings if Warner is dropped or injured. They edged out Cameron Bancroft,who made 945 runs at 59.06 in the recent Sheffield Shield season.
“We think he provides good flexibility for us,” said Bailey of Renshaw. “We like the skill set he brings through the middle.”
The non-selection of Neser will raise eyebrows,given some believe he would be a handful in English conditions.
Neser will be in the UK playing county cricket,leaving him in the frame for the final three Tests if Australia were to face injury setbacks.
“We can be really specific around who we need and why and not necessarily have someone in the squad who ends up being superfluous,” Bailey said.
“The handy thing is we have Sean Abbott and Michael Neser over there playing county cricket. They’re over there on the ground playing lots of cricket so we can call on them if we need.”
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