‘A’ series to shape Ashes squad

Justin Langer has indicated the make-up of Australia's 2019 Ashes squad might not be finalised until just weeks before the opening Test, with form shown on the Australia A tour that immediately precedes it likely to influence final selections.

In what looms as a significant break from tradition, and perhaps reflects the uncertainty surrounding the best look of the Test team when banned duo Steve Smith and David Warner become eligible for selection in March, the squad might not be announced until July.

With the first Ashes Test scheduled to begin at Edgbaston on August 1, the prospect of the Australia touring party remaining unknown until the cusp of the Ashes summer is a distinct possibility.

Speaking in Brisbane in the aftermath of Australia's thumping win over Sri Lanka in the first Domain Test, Langer claimed the national selection panel – of which he is a member alongside chair Trevor Hohns and Greg Chappell – is unlikely to rush their final decision.

"We probably won’t pick the final Ashes squad until quite late," Langer said.

"I hope I’m not talking out of school with the other selectors, but I can’t see us picking the Ashes (squad) before the Australia A tour, for example.

"Maybe halfway through, or three quarters of the way through (the A tour).

"It would be really good opportunities for the guys who are picked for Australia A, while the World Cup is on, to put their hand up."

No dates have been formally announced for the Australia A series, but it is expected to feature a combination of first-class and 50-over matches in the UK from late June until mid-July.

It has also been reported that the Australia A outfit will remain in Britain to play a full-scale warm-up match against Australia's Test squad in the week prior to the opening Test of the Qantas Ashes Series.

The fact that the ICC World Cup will be played concurrently with the Australia A visit – the tournament beginning 30 May with the final on July 14 – means that most of Australia's likely Ashes squad members will be in the UK for weeks prior to the Test campaign getting underway.

Those Test specialists who are not part of either the World Cup ODI squad or the Australia A group are likely to begin their preparations at the Bupa National Cricket Centre in Brisbane before arriving in England in late June.

Although there's also some Ashes candidates who are likely to take up contracts with UK county teams, adding to the total number of Australia players in Britain at the height of summer who will be actively vying for places in what Langer expects to be a Test squad of up to 16.

"Probably the Ashes has got to be 15 or 16 players," Langer said.

"We've got a really good opportunity through Australia A and the last four Sheffield Shield rounds played with the (English-made) Dukes ball, and a Shield final.

"So we’ll get a pretty good indication of who is up and running, and we’ll get the opportunity to see the Australia A tour.

"That's why it’s there."

For the failed 2015 Ashes quest, Australia's 17-man touring party was unveiled in late March – more than three months before the campaign opener at Cardiff – although that was an atypical announcement.

Given that Michael Clarke's team was scheduled to play two Tests against the West Indies in the Caribbean before arriving in the UK that year, a squad was named for both series and chosen to cover the likely conditions and contingencies faced in the disparate locations.

Image Id: 27BEFB8677144FAEA3ABA6EEC29BFEF3 Image Caption: The 2015 series was Australia's fourth straight losing Ashes tour // Getty

For the previous 2013 sojourn, the squad then coached by Mickey Arthur was released publicly in late-April, more than two months before the first Ashes Test of that northern summer.

That 2013 series, which Australia ultimately lost 3-0, was also preceded by an Australia A tour to the UK from which young talents Smith and Ashton Agar were drafted into the Test squad.

What Langer and his fellow selection panel members won't have after the second Domain Test against Sri Lanka in Canberra concludes next month, is the benefit of any more Test cricket before the Ashes to inform their discussions.

Once the current Test summer concludes, the men's team swings immediately into World Cup preparations with a three-week Qantas Tour of India featuring five ODIs and two T20Is, followed by another white-ball series against Pakistan in the UAE.

So while first-class form guides will be drawn from the remaining rounds of Sheffield Shield matches as well as performances for Australia A or on the county circuit in the UK, the management of key players over the coming months will also prove crucial to Ashes planning.

With Langer paying particular attention to the workloads required of his key quicks, the likes of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Jhye Richardson and Josh Hazlewood, who is currently sidelined with a back injury sustained during the recent Domain Test Series against India.

"That’s another big part of our fast bowling stocks, keeping them fit and healthy," Langer said.

"I tend to think that if we keep looking after the Test matches and we keep an eye on what we do in Shield cricket in Australia, the Ashes will look after itself."

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