Konstas dropped, uncapped Weatherald included in Australia's Ashes squad

MELBOURNE :Young opener Sam Konstas has been dropped from Australia's squad for the Ashes, opening the door for uncapped Jake Weatherald to make a test debut in the five-match series against England.

Konstas, 20, misses out after a poor tour with the bat in the West Indies, while Weatherald has been included after topping the Sheffield Shield runs list in 2024/25 and starting the new season with three half-centuries.

Top-order batter Marnus Labuschagne was recalled in the 15-man squad after starting the domestic season with five centuries in a major return to form.

SELECTORS WANT A BOWLING GREEN

Finding a long-term replacement for opener David Warner has been a vexed question for selectors, and chairman George Bailey said on Wednesday they wanted more data from domestic matches before settling on a starting 11 and a batting order.

Much will depend on whether all-rounder Cameron Green can prove his fitness to bowl by delivering a decent spell in the next Shield round.

Green has barely bowled since coming back from spinal surgery and was selected solely as a batting number three during the West Indies tour.

Selectors would prefer a bowling Green at number six in the order, which would likely push out all-rounder Beau Webster.

"It'd be great to see (him bowling), because that's his skill set, isn't it? So if someone's an all-rounder, you want them to be able to, in an ideal world, be capable of performing their skills," Bailey told reporters on the Gold Coast.

If Green is unable to bowl he may stay at number three, which could push Labuschagne up the order to open with Usman Khawaja and deny Tasmania opener Weatherald a spot.

There was no place for Mitchell Marsh despite the all-rounder's good form in white-ball cricket and a recent