Tim Paine returns in the baggy green as Australia pick their Ashes squad

The selectors of Australia have surprisingly picked Tim Paine as a specialist wicketkeeper for the first two Ashes Tests. Cameron Bancroft also earned his maiden call-up to the national side as Matt Renshaw was dropped after poor outings in the ongoing Sheffield Shield season. The news broke through about Paine’s comeback on Thursday night itself and it was confirmed on Friday by the selectors of Cricket Australia. However, Chadd Sayers also earned his maiden call-up as Paine’s bombshell selection make the headlines.

Bancroft is all set to make his debut in Brisbane at the Gabba after scoring runs in abundance in the domestic cricket this season. On the other hand, Paine didn’t even keep wickets and played as a specialist batsman for Tasmania. He last played for Australia seven years ago in October 2010 against India. Also, the search for an all-rounder at six has been temporarily stopped and Shaun Marsh will play in that position which indicates that it will be a four-pronged attack for the first two matches.

Chief selector explains Paine’s selection

The chief selector of Australia Trevor Hohns cleared that Tim Paine was picked for his ability with the bat. “Tim was identified as an international player a long time ago and has always been renowned as a very good gloveman, also performing well for us whenever he has represented Australia in any format. “His batting form in recent outings for the Cricket Australia XI and Tasmania has been good. Paine had also scored a half-century in the warm-up match against England recently for Cricket Australia XI.

Hohns also hailed Bancroft for his performances in domestic cricket and justified Shaun Marsh’s pick at number 6. “Cameron (Bancroft) has been a player of interest to us for some time now, having been unlucky to miss out on the Test tour to Bangladesh that was cancelled in 2015. Shaun (Marsh) is playing very well at the moment, having scored consistently in the JLT One-Day Cup and first three rounds of the JLT Sheffield Shield competition,” he added. He also opined that both Wade and Renshaw needed to prove their worth at the domestic level to be considered again for the national side.

“Matt Wade has been left out of the squad following some inconsistent performances with the gloves and lack of form with the bat. Unfortunately, his run of performances did not improve in the early rounds of Sheffield Shield and we have opted to make a change. We still view Matthew (Renshaw) as a player of immense talent, but he is out of form at the moment and we don’t feel an Ashes Test match is the best place for him to find form,” Hohns concluded.

Australia squad for first two Tests: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Jackson Bird, Chadd Sayers.