Australia has locked in its XI to take on England in the first Ashes Test, to be played at the Gabba from Wednesday.
Freshly minted Aussie skipper Pat Cummins told media today Travis Head has won the race to the No.5 batting spot, while Mitchell Starc will play despite calls from cricket great Shane Warne for the left-armer to be axed.
Head was in a two-man battle with Usman Khawaja to play in the middle order. Both left-handers had shown form at domestic level this season and were each named in the original 15-man Ashes squad.
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It’s unknown if Starc was ever under serious threat from Jhye Richardson to retain his spot in the bowling attack, but noise had grown in the past fortnight thanks to Warne calling for the paceman to be dropped.
Alex Carey will debut at the Gabba, replacing Tim Paine as wicketkeeper. Cummins will captain the side for the first time.
England is yet to unveil its starting XI.
Australia XI: David Warner, Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood