Australia’s chair of selectors George Bailey insists Jake Weatherald is “well in the mix” for this summer’s Ashes, even though the left-hander has not been picked for September’s Australia A trip to India.
Weatherald, now 30, topped last season’s Sheffield Shield charts with 906 runs at 50.33, grinding out three hundreds while opening on often lively Hobart pitches. He then posted 54 and 183 in two unofficial Tests against Sri Lanka A in Darwin, performances that appeared to keep him firmly on the Test radar.
Yet when the A squad for India was unveiled, the openers’ slots went to Test incumbent Sam Konstas, fellow contender Nathan McSweeney and Victoria’s 22-year-old Campbell Kellaway. The omission raised eyebrows, but Bailey stresses the India tour is geared towards Australia’s 2027 Test visit rather than the Ashes, which starts in Perth in December.
Speaking in Darwin ahead of Sunday’s opening T20I against South Africa, Bailey set out the panel’s thinking.
“He’s doing a lot of things right, isn’t he?” Bailey said. “His performance last year was awesome. His performance in the Australia A matches was great, too.
“So that’s the clear message to him, on the back of talking him through the Australia A selections, the clear focus for him is just to continue that and be consistent.
“A lot of selection is potentially being in the right place at the right time. So if he starts the year as he had last year, he’ll be well in the mix.”
The first three Shield rounds, beginning in early October, will serve as the main Ashes trial. Several A-tour players, including Konstas, will skip the white-ball leg in India to return home for that window. Bailey reckons those matches will offer more relevant evidence than anything played on the slow turners expected in Lucknow.
Konstas, 19, endured a tough initiation in the Caribbean earlier this year, managing just 25 runs at 8.33 across three Tests. Despite the numbers, Bailey is reluctant to judge the teenager too harshly.
“I think he’s dealing with it well,” Bailey noted. “I think he deals with most things pretty well. Him being part of the Australia A series is exactly the same. Any player who’s going somewhere new for the first time, take the performance aspect out of it, you want them to leave with a better understanding of: a) their own game, and b) how to play in in different conditions should they face them again.
“The chat that I’ve had with Sam since we’ve returned is he’s reflected on that, and he’s put a few things into his training, and he’s launched himself back into getting ready for India and then playing for New South Wales.”
Bailey declined to draw a straight line between runs scored in India and a baggy-green cap in December, noting the disparity between sub-continental surfaces and the anticipated pace and bounce of Perth.
Selection jigsaw
With David Warner retired, Australia are hunting at least one specialist opener. Weatherald’s weight of domestic runs puts him near the front, but McSweeney’s adaptability and Kellaway’s promise add competition. Longer term, the selectors want a pool of batsmen comfortable in varied conditions, hence the India emphasis.
Ashes preparation
Fast bowlers are likely to be rotated through the early Shield games to manage workloads after the T20 World Cup. Batters, though, have been told runs in October count heavily. Expect selectors at every venue in those first three rounds.
Weatherald’s task is therefore clear: keep scoring. His record at Bellerive, rarely an easy place to bat before Christmas, already argues in his favour. Another strong start would leave Bailey little room to ignore him.
Perspective
For all the focus on individual places, Bailey was keen to remind reporters that Australia’s core remains settled. The top order around Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith is locked, while Pat Cummins’ attack still picks itself when fit. The challenge is refining the support cast rather than rebuilding.
A sense of realism ran through Bailey’s comments. There was no bold declaration, only measured encouragement for those on the fringes. Weatherald, Konstas and the rest know the path: Shield runs first, then conversations about the Ashes.
Whether Weatherald walks out at the WACA in December will hinge on what happens in the next two months. For now, his prospects look reasonable—provided the runs keep coming.
