Australia will hand Brendan Doggett and Jake Weatherald their debuts in the first Ashes Test against England in Perth, starting on Friday.
The hosts’ stand-in captain, Steve Smith, confirmed his lineup at a press conference at Perth Stadium. Doggett, 31, has excelled for South Australia over recent seasons and will bolster a fast-bowling attack deprived of regular captain Pat Cummins (back), Josh Hazlewood and Sean Abbott (both hamstring) through injury, while Weatherald, the Tasmania opener, has impressed Smith in the buildup to the series opener.
“I watched (Weatherald) bat in the nets pretty closely the last few days, and they were pretty tricky nets — fast, bouncy, a lot of seam,” said Smith. “He’s got a lot of courage. He just goes in there; I don’t think he faces any of the side arms, he wants to face bowlers the entire time and the guys were charging in bowling fast. He took it on, was getting in really good positions and goes about it a certain way.
“I’m really excited for him. He’s worked hard for a long period of time and he’s going to complement ‘Uzzie’ (Usman Khawaja) pretty well up top.
“Injuries happen in sport, particularly in cricket with fast bowlers, they put a lot of stress through their bodies. It’s unfortunate that those bowlers (Cummins, Hazlewood and Abbott) are out, but it’s an exciting opportunity for Brendan. He’s been on a few tours, he’s very skilful, he’s improved a hell of a lot the last few years, and I’m excited to see him go about his business.”
Jake Weatherald batting in the nets at Perth Stadium this week (Daniel Carson/Getty Images)
Smith will be captaining Australia for the first time in an Ashes Test since the second match of the 2021-22 series, when Cummins was absent suffering from Covid. The home side won that game in Adelaide, eventually running out 4-0 series victors.
The 36-year-old batter insisted he is more “chilled” these days, though he did momentarily let loose in his press conference when asked to address recent comments from the former England spinner Monty Panesar, made to online betting company AceOdds earlier this month.
Panesar had urged England’s players to remind Smith of his role as captain in the ‘Sandpapergate’ ball-tampering scandal of 2018 — Smith admitted in the immediate aftermath of the controversy that his failures in leadership were responsible for the cheating scandal that engulfed his Australia team — and make him feel “guilty” to be captaining his country once again.
“I’m going to go off topic for a second here,” said Smith, who has captained Australia 40 times, winning 23 Tests along the way. “Who of you in the room has seen Mastermind and Monty Panesar on that? (Panesar appeared on a celebrity version of the quiz show in 2019.) Any of you?
“For those of you who have, you’ll understand where I’m coming from, and those of you who haven’t, do yourself a favour because it’s pretty comical. Anyone that believes that Athens is in Germany… that’s a start. Oliver Twist is a season of the year? And America is a city?
“Doesn’t really bother me, those comments, so that’s as far as I’ll go with that one.”
Smith later added: “I’ve learned a lot over my journey and the couple of times I’ve stood in for Paddy, I’ve tried to be pretty relaxed and let the game play. Obviously I’ve got to do it my own way out there and have my own style, but I’m a lot more relaxed these days, chilled and let the guys go about their work.
“I’ve had a good couple of weeks actually. A few Sheffield Shield games where I felt really good out in the middle, so I feel in a good place. Hopefully I can take it out in the middle over the next couple of days.”
The in-form Marnus Labuschagne will bat at his favoured No 3 berth behind Khawaja and Weatherald, with Cameron Green dropping down to No 6. “When he’s batting at his best at No 3, it makes us a very, very good cricket side,” Smith said of Labuschagne, who was dropped for the 3-0 series win in the West Indies earlier this year. “We couldn’t really leave him out after he came back and did exactly what was asked of him.
“The way he’s batted for Queensland has been amazing.”
England named a 12-man squad for the first Test on Wednesday and are expected to confirmed their XI on Thursday, with the selection over an all seam-bowling attack or the inclusion of Shoaib Bashir’s spin the key dilemma. Australia have already made their call, with Nathan Lyon making the cut for Perth.
“Nathan has done really well out here,” said Smith. “He bowls nicely when the wicket’s bouncing, so we’ll see how the game pans out. We’ve got four seam options with Greeny there and then, when we see fit, we’ll bowl the spin. We might lock him in down one end so the quicks can bowl and … we’ll see how England try to play him.
“They’ve got a good lineup. They’ve got good bowlers for the conditions. They can play how they like. We’ve gone with a spinner. We think you can create good pace, good bounce, and a little bit of purchase out of this wicket. Whether they go with a spinner, I’m not sure.”
England captain Ben Stokes shakes hands with Steve Smith at Perth Stadium (Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images)
Smith’s opposite number, Ben Stokes, suggested the Australian was “neck and neck with Joe Root in terms of the greatest batters of this generation” at his own press call. That praise was reciprocated.
“(Stokes) has done a terrific job in England over the last couple of years,” added Smith. “The style they play suits them, led by him and Baz (coach Brendon McCullum) — and yeah, he’s potentially someone you don’t want to get too riled up. He’s had a few performances against us where he’s either taken the game away from us or clawed it back, so he’s a quality performer. Whether it’s bat, ball or in the field, he’s always in the game and giving 110 per cent.
“So yeah, hopefully we can keep him quiet this series.”
Australia XI for first Test in Perth: Jake Weatherald, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (captain), Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wicketkeeper), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland, Brendan Doggett.
