Swing king Sayers earns county deal

One-Test swing bowler Chadd Sayers will get the chance to make a late push for an unlikely Ashes spot after he was signed by UK county side Gloucestershire.

Sayers conceded in March that he was a long shot to make Australia’s squad for the Ashes in August and September, but he will now get a golden chance to show national selectors what he can do with the English Dukes ball in swinging conditions.

The good news for Sayers means bad news for his state teammate and fellow Test hopeful Dan Worrall, who was well and truly in the Ashes frame before his stint with Gloucestershire ended last month due to a serious back injury.

Sayers’ first match will be against Sussex next week and he’ll need to quickly show his wares for his new county if he’s any chance of returning to Australia’s Test squad.

After debuting in South Africa in March last year, Sayers had hoped to push his Ashes claims with a big 2018-19 season with the Redbacks, a plan that was scuppered by a knee injury that sidelined him for much of the season.

The likes of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, James Pattinson, Jhye Richardson and Peter Siddle are the leading fast-bowling contenders for the Ashes, but Sayers hasn’t completely ruled a line through himself yet.

 “Anything could happen – the World Cup is on, lots of cricket to be played before the Ashes,” he told News Corp this week.

Having watched sat on the sidelines for most of last season and watched the likes of Richardson emerge as a player of enormous promise, Sayers conceded his Ashes dream was fading.

"I haven't played enough cricket to push my case, and blokes have stepped into where I was,” he said in March.

"We've got some blokes who have stepped up, got some Test matches under their belts and performed as well.

"It's going to be hard to break into that squad, so all I can do is play some good cricket.”

Sayers is due to be with Gloucestershire until the end of July, when Australia’s Test hopefuls will be facing off against each other in a selection showdown in Southampton just weeks out from the first Test.

In other news from the UK, Mitchell Marsh will join his brother Shaun in playing in the T20 Blast for Glamorgan, with the allrounder set to join the Welsh county after his Australia A commitments end in late July.

Qantas Ashes Tour of the UK 2019

Tour match: Australia v Australia A, Hampshire, July 23-26

First Test: August 1-5 at Edgbaston, Birmingham

Tour match: Australia v Worcestershire, August 7-9

Second Test: August 14-18 at Lord's, London

Third Test: August 22-26 at Headingley, Leeds

Tour match: Australia v Derbyshire, August 29-31

Fourth Test: September 4-8 at Old Trafford, Manchester

Fifth Test: September 12-16 at The Oval, London