Australia name 18-man Test squad for historic Pakistan tour

Australia named an 18-man squad for the historic Pakistan tour which will be their first visit in nearly 25 years and Kangaroos’ first overseas Test tour in almost three years.

With the addition of Ashton Agar from the group of players that won the Ashes, the 18-man Australian squad include Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith (vc), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson and David Warner

The touring nation will also announce its squads for limited-overs matches including three ODIs and one T20I. Prior to the Pakistan tour, Australian officials conducted thorough security assessments.

Schedule

March 4-8: First Test, Rawalpindi

March 12-16: Second Test, Karachi

March 21-25: Third Test, Lahore

March 29:First ODI, Rawalpindi

March 31: Second ODI, Rawalpindi

April 2: Third ODI, Rawalpindi

April 5: Only T20I, Rawalpindi

Australia Test squad

Jhye Richardson is the only player of note to miss the trip as Australia manage the body of the 25-year-old fast bowler, who has struggled with injuries over his career, according to cricket.com.au.

Our 18-player Test squad for the Qantas tour of Pakistan! 🔒

The Test playing contingent and staff are due to depart for Pakistan later this month while white ball players, to be announced separately, will join mid-tour for the ODI and T20I matches. pic.twitter.com/7RM0HwKygq

— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) February 7, 2022

Marcus Harris has held his spot in the squad after being squeezed out of his opening spot for the final match of the Ashes campaign following Usman Khawaja’s twin hundreds at the SCG.

Harris had won plaudits at the MCG for his Test-high 76 on a dicey pitch, while Pat Cummins has admitted fielding two 35-year-old openers (in Khawaja and David Warner) is not a sound long-term selection strategy.

There are no surprises among the other bowlers picked, with Ashes hero Scott Boland named alongside the big three quicks in Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, who returns from injury, while Michael Neser is also in.

Agar is one of three spin options along with Nathan Lyon and Swepson, with the trio earmarked for major roles over the next 18 months with tours of Sri Lanka and India (and potentially Bangladesh given a tour there was ‘postponed’ in 2020 and is still to be rescheduled) on the horizon.

But Australia have been warned that Pakistan is not a slow bowlers’ paradise.

📢 Squad announcement

Australia have named three spinners in their Test squad for their upcoming tour of Pakistan ⤵ #PAKvAUS

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) February 8, 2022

Marsh and Inglis, both of whom rode the bench during the Ashes, provide cover in the seam-bowling allrounder and wicketkeeper positions currently occupied by incumbents Cameron Green and Alex Carey respectively.

The extended size of the squad reflects the difficulty of calling players up at short notice to an overseas tour should there be a last-minute injury, with Australia expected to be in some form of a bio-secure bubble for the tour.

Australian Cricketers’ Association chief Todd Greenberg told SEN on Monday, “Clearly there is some anxiety about touring which I think is perfectly natural given an Australian team hasn’t toured Pakistan for almost 25 years.”

“We may have one or two players who won’t be comfortable despite all of the advice and guidance that we provide. Along with Cricket Australia, we’ll need to respect those players and give them our full support if they decide not to make this tour.”

“It’s a very important tour. The players completely understand our contribution to the global game and we don’t have an expectation that we can sit here and expect teams to tour our country and not contribute ourselves.”

“The general perception, which I think is wrong, is … there’s going to be two spinners in the game and it’s going to spin all the way through,” former Pakistan batter Bazid Khan told cricket.com.au last month.

“Pakistan is totally different to India. The ball is not going to spin straight away and mostly the wickets have been taken by the faster men rather than the spinners.”

Marsh and Inglis, both of whom rode the bench during the Ashes, provide cover in the seam-bowling allrounder and wicketkeeper positions currently occupied by incumbents Cameron Green and Alex Carey respectively.

The extended size of the squad reflects the difficulty of calling players up at short notice to an overseas tour should there be a last-minute injury, with Australia expected to be in some form of a bio-secure bubble for the tour.