Final Test to shape Ashes auditions

Australia's quest to win back the Ashes urn on England's patch might be six months in the future, but Test skipper Tim Paine believes performances over coming days could significantly shape the team he ultimately leads to the UK.

Much is likely to change for Australia's men's team between Friday's start of the second Domain Series Test against Sri Lanka in Canberra and the Ashes opener at Edgbaston from August 1.

Not least among those variables is the possible return of batters Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft after their respective suspensions, and fast bowler Josh Hazlewood from injury.

But while those contingencies mean that performances in the maiden Test match at Manuka won't guarantee incumbency when selectors come to finalise the Ashes squad in July, Paine says the current group is likely to form the nucleus of that touring party.

Which means those players who, like Paine, return to first-class duties while the national men's team moves into white-ball mode until the World Cup concludes in mid-July will be effectively fighting for a handful of berths in the Ashes line-up.

"A lot can change in six months, but performances this summer will be taken into account, there's no doubt about that," Paine said today when asked if the home season's last Test also served as a final Ashes audition.

"Every Test match you play is really important, this one for a number of reasons – we want to win a series, we haven't won a series for a while.

"But going forward, we want to start to building some momentum and have some guys that are performing consistently around this group, and if we do that, then our group won't change a helluva lot.

"Having said that, there's plenty of opportunities for guys at the back end of the Shield season as well, for pressing their claims with the Dukes ball for a really big (Ashes) series coming up.

"Certainly, it will count to that but it’s not the be-all and end-all."

If it's taken for granted that Paine, his current Test vice-captains Travis Head and Pat Cummins, as well as experienced mainstays Usman Khawaja, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon are all inked-in for the 16-man Ashes squad, then the debate swirls around younger hopefuls.

Paine today identified opener Marcus Harris, top-order batter Marnus Labuschagne, and rookie speedster Jhye Richardson as players who (along with Head) have debuted in the wake of the sandpaper scandal and showed they belong at Test level.

However, the inability of Australia's top-order to post sizeable scores (so far, no batter has posted a Test century across five home Tests this summer) has increased the likelihood of Smith and Warner slotting straight back into the Test fold despite not having played first-class cricket since last March.

And with Hazlewood a certain starter if his back problems are resolved, that leaves up to four places (likely an auxiliary batter, a reserve keeper, a fifth seamer and an allrounder) open for players to push their cases in the final rounds of Sheffield Shield competition.

Which will be played using the English-made Dukes ball, introduced to Australia's first-class competition in the 2016-17 summer to try and overturn Australia's wretched run in the UK where they have not won an Ashes series since 2001.

Historically, a team that has finished an Australia summer on a high would be expected to undergo little change as they forged on to their next Test assignment.

But even if Paine's team can close out their first series triumph since last year's home Ashes series by holding or extending their current 1-0 lead over Sri Lanka, these are not traditional times.

The fact that Australia plays no Test cricket until the next financial year is a consequence of the impending ICC World Cup, which demands a strong focus on white-ball cricket.

In addition, the prospect of the team's two best-performed batters of the recent past – and an incumbent opener of a year ago – becoming available after serving suspensions imposed by Cricket Australia is unprecedented.

However, through the disappointment of Test series losses to Pakistan (in the UAE last October) and then India (in Australia) and now the resurgence against a depleted and dispirited Sri Lanka, Paine has seen numerous green shoots emerge.

Should Kurtis Patterson follow his assured score of 30 from the Gabba last week with an even bigger score in Canberra, his name is likely to be sketched upon that Ashes short-list.

Opener Joe Burns can also galvanise his claim, and the pre-game addition of Marcus Stoinis to the squad just in case Manuka's pitch conditions required an extra bowling option suggests he might have nosed ahead of deposed vice-captain Mitchell Marsh for an allrounder's berth.

"I think we've unearthed some players who are going to have good Test careers," Paine said today, when reflecting on the team's evolution since the first Test against India in Adelaide last December.

"We haven't had the wins we would have liked, and sometimes it's easy to look at the negatives, and the losses, and the lack of hundreds and what-not.

"But at the end of the day, when we sit back and take in this summer and plan going forward, we've unearthed some really good cricketers … Jhye Richardson, Marnus (Labuschagne), Travis (Head), Marcus Harris.

"So there's a number of guys coming through.

"And when you add to that some experienced players who could be coming back, I think there's going to be a really good period of cricket coming up for our team and for Australian fans to watch."

Domain Test Series v Sri Lanka

Australia: Tim Paine (c/wk), Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Kurtis Patterson, Will Pucovski, Jhye Richardson, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis

Sri Lanka: Dinesh Chandimal (c), Dimuth Karunaratne, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dhananjaya de Silva, Roshen Silva, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Kusal Perera, Dilruwan Perera, Lakshan Sandakan, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Lahiru Kumara, Dushmantha Chameera, Kasun Rajitha

First Test: Australia won by an innings and 40 runs

Second Test: February 1-5, Canberra