Cameron Bancroft and Matthew Wade have earned recalls for Test cricket as Australia named 17-man squad for the Ashes, starting August 1.
Chairman of Selectors Trevor Hohns said Bancroft along with David Warner and Steve Smith forced their way back into the Test team on the basis of their excellent performance.
Hohns said Bancroft impressed the selection panel with his innings during county cricket and while playing in the intra-squad match in Southampton.
"David Warner, Steve Smith, and Cameron Bancroft have forced their way back into the Test squad through the excellence of their recent performances. David and Steve also have the advantage of being proven players at Test level," Cricket Australia quoted Hohns, as saying in a statement.
"While Cameron has produced impressive numbers for county side Durham this season and his innings in the intra-squad match in Southampton on a tough pitch was outstanding and showed his quality," he added.
Reflecting on the inclusion of Wade, Hohns said he deserved to be part of the team as Wade proved himself with 1021 first-class runs and three centuries on Australia A tour.
"Matthew Wade fully deserves his recall as he has made an irresistible case for inclusion through sheer weight of runs with 1021 first-class runs at home last summer followed by three hundreds on Australia A tour, including an excellent 114 against the England Lions at Canterbury last week," he said.
Josh Hazlewood also found a spot in the squad after recovering from a back injury, while Mitchell Marsh returned on the back of impressive performance with the bat and ball during Australia A tour.
"Josh Hazlewood comes back after missing the Sri Lanka Test series and the ICC Cricket World Cup as he recovered from a back injury and James, Peter and Josh, plus Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Michael Neser form a strong seam attack, with all-rounder Mitchell Marsh also returning to the squad after impressing with bat and ball on Australia A tour," he said.
James Pattinson and Peter Siddle also returned in the Test squad with their brilliant performances on Australia A tour and in the county cricket, respectively.
"James Pattinson has demanded inclusion after impressing everyone on Australia A tour with his pace and control, following on from a good season at home for Victoria, and he returns to the Test squad, as does Peter Siddle, who has been in fine form in county cricket for Essex.
The selection panel also added spinner Nathan Lyon, saying they have faith in his ability.
"We have opted to select one frontline spinner in Nathan Lyon. We have faith in his ability, we know our strength lies in our pace attack and we have Marnus Labuschagne's leg-spin as another spin option as he has bowled almost 200 overs for county side Glamorgan in first-class cricket this season," Hohns said.
Hohns said the selectional panel picked up 17 players who are fit and are a good mix of all talents, including high-quality batsmen and top-class fast bowlers.
"We have chosen 17 players as this gives us the cover and flexibility we believe we will need to ensure we are in good shape throughout a demanding schedule of five Test matches in just over six weeks. We believe the squad is an excellent blend of high-quality batsmen and top-class fast bowlers, plus Nathan Lyon, who we regard as the world's best off-spinner in all conditions. It is a good mix of all the talents," Hohns said.
"We have had excellent preparations for this series, with eight players from this squad forming part of Australia A tour that has been in the UK for more than a month, six who took part in the ICC Cricket World Cup, and three who have been playing county cricket. It means the players are acclimatised and ready for the first Test," he added.
Australia have not won an Ashes series in the UK since 2001. The team is the current Ashes-holder as they won the urn at home during the 2017-18 season.
National selection panel announced the following 17-man squad for the Ashes Tour of the UK:
Tim Paine (c), Cameron Bancroft, Pat Cummins, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner.
Australia will travel to Birmingham on July 27 and practice at Edgbaston ahead of the first Test at the venue, starting August 1.
( With inputs from ANI )
