Australia chief selector George Bailey says the squad for the first Ashes Test against England deserves "respect" following criticism of the age of players. Only one player under 30 - 26-year-old all-rounder Cameron Green - was named in a 15-man squad on Wednesday for the series opener in Perth starting on 21 November.

Former captain Steve Waugh criticised the selection, saying Bailey did not have the "appetite" to make tough calls to regenerate the side. "We're aware of the age profile of the team," said Bailey. "I'm interested when people have that view as to who they would like us to leave. Is that Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc out? Is that just because of their age? "You've got to give due respect that the guys are performing very well and they have the right to be selected."

Opener Sam Konstas was the notable absentee, with Marnus Labuschagne recalled and Jake Weatherald called up for the first time. Both batters are 31. It is the second time in 12 months that 20-year-old Konstas has been dropped. "I feel for Sammy. At the moment, if he farts it's a headline," said Bailey. "We really like him. We like the skillset there and we're confident that over the long run it will continue to build out."

As expected, captain and pace bowler Pat Cummins was left out as he recovers from a back injury. Head coach Andrew McDonald said in October he is "really optimistic" that Cummins, 32, will be available for the second Test in Brisbane starting on 4 December. Starc, 35, Josh Hazlewood, 34, and Scott Boland, 36, are expected to form the pace attack, while 33-year-old Sean Abbott and 31-year-old Brendan Doggett - both are whom are uncapped - have been included in the squad. Lyon, 37, is the only specialist spinner.

Steve Smith, who was stripped of the captaincy in 2018 following the ball-tampering scandal, will skipper the side in Cummins's absence. Australia are the holders of the Ashes. England have won only one of their past 10 series in Australia - and none since 2010-11. The five-Test series is set to end on 8 January.

Australia squad for first Test: Steve Smith (capt), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster.

England's Ashes squad: Ben Stokes (capt), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue, Mark Wood.

The left-field option Australia could have taken for their troublesome opening spot was Mitchell Marsh. The all-rounder has not played any first-class cricket since last year's Boxing Day Test, but has an excellent Ashes record and opens in white-ball cricket. He has the game to go at pace bowling, so it would have been exciting to see him take on the England attack. Instead, he can make good on his promise of being "six beers deep" by lunch on day one of the first Test.

As they often do, Australia have played it safe. Marnus Labuschagne has been outstanding in domestic cricket and demanded a recall, while uncapped opener Jake Weatherald was the leading run-scorer in the Sheffield Shield last season. As recently as the summer of 2024, Weatherald was playing for Great Witchingham Cricket Club in the East Anglia Premier League, where he was a team-mate of former England spinner Monty Panesar.

Labuschagne will want to bat at three, allowing Weatherald a debut, but that might depend on Cameron Green's fitness to bowl. If Green is struggling, he will probably go to number three, with Labuschagne at the top. A fit Green would go to number six, squeezing out fellow all-rounder Beau Webster.

After the hammer blow of losing captain Pat Cummins, the fast-bowling reinforcements were predictable. Scott Boland is primed for a place in the XI, with uncapped pair Sean Abbott and Brendan Doggett in reserve. Both are experienced, so are unlikely to be overawed if called upon.

Again, an interesting selection would have been Fergus O'Neill, who has been prolific in domestic cricket. Far removed from a typical Aussie seamer, O'Neill is more like an English medium-pacer, nipping the ball around. If pitches do offer plenty of assistance, he could be an option later in the series.