Australia announced a 12-man squad for the fifth and final Ashes Test against England, scheduled to begin from Thursday at Kennington Oval. The team management has named all-rounder Mitchell Marsh in the squad who hasn’t played for Australia since December 2018.


He has been brought in to provide extra bowling cover and will replace Travis Head.

“The reason Travis isn't playing is that we felt we needed extra bowling after a long series. We want to get the make-up right for this Test and unfortunately, Travis misses out. He's disappointed he's not playing. No doubt he's in the top six or seven batsmen in this country,” skipper Tim Paine is quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

The final XI will be revealed at the time of toss. The inclusion of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, Australia's highest wicket-takers this series, will be dependent upon how they recover from the Old Trafford Test.

Australia have already retained the Ashes by winning the fourth Test and thus taking an unassailable 2-1 lead in the series. They are now looking to record a series win in England, something they haven't done since Steve Waugh's ‘Invincibles’ did so in 2001.

Australia XII:

David Warner, Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Mitch Marsh, Matthew Wade, Tim Paine (c, wk), Pat Cummins, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood