Veteran trio make return to 13-player squad for Bangladesh’s first Test tour of Australia since 2003
Australia are poised to field a full-strength Test side for the first time in a year after captain Pat Cummins, along with Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon, were all named to face Bangladesh next month.
There was no spot in the 13-player squad for Michael Neser despite his tremendous Ashes efforts with Cummins, Hazlewood and Lyon, the trio of star bowlers that played just three Tests between them during their injury-plagued home summer, all returning for the two-match series in Darwin and Mackay.
Australia squad for Bangladesh Tests: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster.
Selectors now face an agonising call over which of Hazlewood, Lyon or Scott Boland to leave out for the NRMA Insurance series opener at Marrara Stadium.
It is a pleasant nuisance compared to the sequence of injuries they were dealt with for the England campaign.
Boland has typically been the fall guy when the ‘big three’ of Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood have all been available. That pecking order was reinforced when the Victorian missed selection for last year’s World Test Championship final and first two Tests of the Caribbean tour.
Whether he plays against Bangladesh or not, Boland is certain to feature heavily during a busy 2026-27 schedule given the advancing ages of Australia’s bowlers. Neser and Brendan Doggett, who have been training with the Test group in Brisbane ahead of the Top End Tests, are also likely to provide pace depth.
Selection chief George Bailey said Cummins, Hazlewood and Lyon had “worked extremely hard, individually and with the (sports science) teams, over the past few months to return from their respective injuries.
“While this is a 13-player squad, we have players prepared and available should any adjustments be required in the lead up to these matches.
“As previously stated, the volume of cricket and schedule across the next 12 months are likely to present further opportunities across all formats for many players.”
The other tough call for Bailey and co. will be the one on who replaces Usman Khawaja, who retired from international cricket after the Aussies clinched a 4-1 Ashes series win at the SCG in January.
Both Cameron Green and Beau Webster played in that Test, but that was with Lyon injured. Australia could now retain both allrounders with Khawaja out of the picture, with Green or wicketkeeper Alex Carey in the mix to take the No.5 spot.
Josh Inglis is another option for the middle order after playing two Ashes Tests as a specialist batter, albeit batting at seven. All three of Green, Webster and Inglis could play if Australia left out Lyon – something they have only done for recent day-night Tests when the veteran off-spinner has been fit.
The 38-year-old has indicated he is back at full capacity having undergone hamstring surgery in December after suffering a serious strain during the Adelaide Test. Selectors have indicated they may have to carefully manage the oldest member of their squad given it was his second significant soft-tissue injury in three years.
His understudy, Todd Murphy, has also been training with the Australians in recent weeks.
Like Lyon, Cummins has also not played since Australia sealed the Ashes in Adelaide – due to a back stress complaint for the quick. In fact, that third Test against England is the only international match the 33-year-old has played in any format in the past year.
Australia will be desperate to have their skipper featuring more heavily over a coming 12-month period that could see them play as many 21 Tests if they make next year’s World Test Championship final.
Likewise for Hazlewood, another elite, ageing paceman who has missed significant time in recent years due to injuries. Hamstring and Achilles issues have been his latest concerns, though, as Cummins did, he has since returned to top-flight cricket in this year’s Indian Premier League.
NRMA Insurance Bangladesh Test series
First Test: August 13-17, Marrara Stadium Darwin, 10am (local)
Second Test: August 22-26, Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay, 10am (local)
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster
