Brendan Doggett and Jake Weatherald will receive men’s Baggy Green cap numbers 472 and 473 respectively after Steve Smith confirmed the pair would debut in the NRMA Insurance Ashes series opener at Perth Stadium.
Australia will field multiple debutants in an Ashes Test for the first time since the 2010-11 New Year’s Test when Usman Khawaja and Michael Beer played their first games.
Australia XI for first Test: Usman Khawaja, Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (c), Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Brendan Doggett, Scott Boland
Almost 15 years on, Khawaja will have his seventh opening partner since his Test return in 2022 in Weatherald, the 31-year-old left-hander who was last summer’s leading Sheffield Shield run scorer.
Doggett, also 31, has earned his maiden international cap on the back of equally impressive domestic form. He has shadowed the Test squad over the past 18 months and gets his chance with Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood both injured.
“He is very skillful,” Smith said of Doggett. “I think he’s improved a hell of a lot the last few years and I’m excited to see him go about his business.”
It leaves Beau Webster as one of Australia’s most unfortunate axings of recent times. The allrounder has averaged 35 with the bat and 23 with the ball since replacing Mitch Marsh last summer.
Ultimately Cameron Green’s return to the bowling crease squeezed Webster out. Green is set to play his first international as a fully-fledged allrounder since undergoing back surgery just over a year ago.
“Very tricky,” Smith said of Webster being dropped. “He came into international cricket and lit it up immediately. It’s a really tough one on him.”
Green will drop to No.6 having batted at three in his return to Test cricket this year but that was before he resumed bowling, with Marnus Labuschagne taking back his favoured first-drop position.
“We’re pretty versatile with our order and the way we can go about it,” said Smith.
“‘Greeny’ obviously played exceptionally well at three in some tough conditions in the West Indies. But with him bowling as well, and taking that load, we feel that six is a good position for him right now.
“It doesn’t mean in the future, he’s not going to slide up the order, but for right now, (him at) number six suits this team.”
Labuschagne, who was dropped for Australia’s most recent Tests in the Caribbean, has piled on five centuries to begin the domestic summer to win his place back and prompt hopes he can recapture the form that once made him the world’s No.1-ranked Test batter.
“Marnus, when he’s batting at his best at number three, he makes us a very good cricket side,” said Smith.
“We couldn’t really leave him out after he came back and did exactly what was (asked) of him. The way he’s batted in Shield cricket and one-day cricket for Queensland in the last couple of weeks has been amazing.
“When he’s batting well he’s tough to leave out. Beau is the one that misses out unfortunately.”
Smith admits he has been impressed by Weatherald’s first week in Australian colours having observed him closely in the nets in recent days.
“They were pretty tricky nets – fast, bouncy and a lot of seam – and he’s got a lot of courage,” said Smith.
“He just goes in there, I don’t think he faces any of the side-arms or anything, he wants to face bowlers the entire time and the guys were charging in, bowling fast. He took it on and he was getting in really good positions, and he goes about it a certain way.
“He’s been selected for his performances over the last 18 months in particular. He’s batted exceptionally well at the top of the order for Tasmania, and hopefully he can bring that to the Test arena. I think he’s going to complement ‘Uzzie’ pretty well up top.”
Nathan Lyon, who missed selection for Australia’s most recent Test in Jamaica when they opted for an all-seam attack, returns to play at the venue that is statistically his best in the country.
England yesterday named a 12-man squad for the first Test with Ollie Pope edging out Jacob Bethell for the No.3 berth, while speedster Mark Wood has been cleared of hamstring tightness as the visitors weigh up whether to go with four quicks or stick with off-spinner Shoaib Bashir.
“Injuries happen in sport, particularly in cricket with fast bowlers, they put a lot of stress through their bodies,” Smith said of the injuries to Cummins and Hazlewood.
“Unfortunate that those two are out. But an exciting opportunity for Scotty (Boland) and for Brendan Doggett to make his debut.”
2025-26 NRMA Insurance Men’s Ashes
First Test: November 21-25, Perth Stadium, 1:20pm AEDT
Second Test: December 4-8, The Gabba, Brisbane (D/N), 3pm AEDT
Third Test: December 17-21: Adelaide Oval, 10:30am AEDT
Fourth Test: December 26-30: MCG, Melbourne, 10:30am AEDT
Fifth Test: January 4-8: SCG, Sydney, 10:30am AEDT
Australia squad (first Test only): Steve Smith (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster
England squad: Ben Stokes (c), Harry Brook (vc), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue, Mark Wood
