Mark Taylor reveals his Australia XI for the opening Ashes Test against England

The much-awaited Ashes 2021-22 is all set to begin from December 08 at the iconic Gabba in Brisbane. Ahead of the mega contest, former Australian cricketer Mark Taylor has revealed his Aussie playing XI.

Taylor went with Marcus Harris and David Warner as the openers, while for the middle-order, he named Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith and Travis Head.

“Here is my side. Marcus Harris, at the top of the order, will partner David Warner. I’ve got Travis Head at number five, ahead of Usman Khawaja,” said Taylor at World Wide of Sports.

Notably, Australia have recently announced the squad for the first two Ashes Tests, naming Alex Carey as a wicketkeeper to fill in the shoes of Tim Paine, who had recently taken an indefinite break from all forms of the game following his texting scandal.

Taylor also went with Carey over Josh Inglis, stating the former has experience of playing international cricket and even captaining the Australian ODI team.

“I’ve got Carey (Alex Carey) ahead of Josh Inglis. Although Josh has been with the T20 side recently, is putting a bit of pressure on but Alex Carey has been around now for a while and has been a past vice-captain of the Australian One-Day side, so I’ve got him (Carey) in there just for the experience,” added Taylor.

The 57-year-old picked newly-appointed Test skipper Pat Cummins, left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc, and right-arm speedster Josh Hazlewood to form the fast bowling unit while also naming Cameron Green as the all-rounder.

Further, Taylor went with Nathan Lyon as the lone specialist spinner in the side and Jhye Richardson as the 12th member.

Here is Mark Taylor’s Australia XI for the Ashes opener:

David Warner, Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (vc), Travis Head, Cameroon Green, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon.
Jhye Richardson (12th man).

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December 04, 2021 at 10:11PM