Ashes 2025-26: Ricky Ponting names his XI for Ashes opener; Weatherald, Doggett included

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has revealed his preferred line-up for the first Ashes Test against England, backing Jake Weatherald for a Test debut and selecting Brendan Doggett to bolster the pace attack. Australia have been hit by mounting injury concerns in the lead-up to the marquee series, with pacers Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins ruled out of the opening Test, along with back-up quick Sean Abbott.

Taking these setbacks into account, along with the need for balance and the right team combination, Ponting’s proposed Australia XI includes a debutant and a reshaped fast-bowling unit designed to compensate for the absence of key senior players.

“I feel that Australia's best team has Jake Weatherald opening the batting along with (Usman) Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne at three. He’s (Labuschagne) done absolutely everything that's been asked of him over the last month, scoring hundreds at will, coming back into the side at No.3,” said Ponting on The ICC Review.

“Steve Smith (at) four, Travis Head (at) five, Cameron Green (at) six, Carey (at) seven. With (Scott) Boland, (Mitchell) Starc, probably Doggett gets the nod ahead of Michael Neser and Nathan Lyon, who was always going to play anyway, I think that will be Australia's team,” he added.

With his preferred XI set, Ponting explained how Australia found themselves facing such a selection dilemma ahead of the Ashes. The loss of Hazlewood to a hamstring strain is a major blow, he is nearing 300 Test wickets after 76 matches, and his absence is further compounded by the unavailability of regular captain. As a result, Boland, Mitchell Starc, and Doggett form the front-line fast-bowling trio, with the selectors drafting in Michael Neser as additional cover for the opening Test.

“If you had asked me this (to pick the XI) a week ago, my thoughts might have been slightly different. Obviously, we've had Josh Hazlewood go down with that hamstring strain, it seems like, in the last (Sheffield) Shield game that he played. Brendan Doggett is already in the squad, he's been called in. Michael Neser has also been called into the squad now,” said Ponting.

“So a week ago, I felt that they were going to play Jake Weatherald as the opener and Labuschagne at No.3 and that Doggett would probably just come in, Boland comes in the absence of Pat Cummins. But now things could be different. The fact that Hazelwood is not there, they'll have Starc, Boland, probably Doggett. Do they now think that they might need some more bowling cover as far as the all-rounders are concerned? Do they now think they might need Beau Webster to be in that side as well. So there are a lot of questions that I am not really sure what the outcome or the answer is,” he added.

He noted that with a fully fit pace attack, Cameron Green’s workload would have been well within limits, especially after his encouraging Sheffield Shield performance, where he smashed a brilliant 94 for Western Australia and impressed with a sharp spell that included a wicket in the first innings. However, Hazlewood’s absence has brought Beau Webster firmly into the selection conversation. Webster strengthened his case with a standout bowling display in his latest outing for Tasmania, claiming eight wickets, including an impressive 5/50 in the first innings.

“If they had their full strength bowling group, Cameron Green, having got through the Shield game last week, I think they would have been more than comfortable going into a Perth Test with him as the all-rounder that could bowl eight, 10, 12 overs in an innings,” Ponting said.

“Beau Webster in this last Shield game as well, missed out with the bat in both innings but picked up eight wickets with the ball. So he's also thrown a bit of a spanner into the works there as far as selection is concerned," he concluded.

Ricky Ponting’s preferred XI for the Ashes opener:

Jake Weatherald, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (C), Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (WK), Scott Boland, Mitchell Starc, Brendan Doggett, Nathan Lyon