Konstas’ multi-format boost as Aus A squads for India tour reveal clues towards post-Ashes overhaul
‘Not being coy’ Bailey on Test squad | 04:06
Courtney Walsh from Fox SportsSeptember 1st, 2026 12:03 pm
Australia will examine its next generation of Test cricketers in India later this month with a view to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy tour next summer and the likelihood there will be significant change in the national squad after next year’s Ashes.
The Australia A squad chosen for two four day games later in September features a mix of experienced cricketers and talents identified as prospective Test players for Australia, perhaps as soon as the South African tour in October.
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Former Test representatives Sam Konstas and Nathan McSweeney,
Former Test representatives Sam Konstas and Nathan McSweeney, fresh from a prolific county cricket season, will join Victorian opener Campbell Kellaway, veteran Peter Handscomb and ex-Australian under-19 talent Jason Sangha on the tour.
Brendon Doggett and Jhye Richardson, who showed their talent in the Ashes, along with Victorians Todd Murphy and Fergus O’Neill and Western Australian off-spinner Corey Rocchiccioli will also feature in India.
“I’m not being coy about it. We still working through what that Test squad is going to look like and exactly what we feel we’ll need in South Africa,” Australian chairman of selectors George Bailey said.
Purely from a timing perspective, there’s a very
“Purely from a timing perspective, there’s a very reasonable case that players could play the first four-day game in India and then make it across to South Africa and they won’t miss any of the in-country preparation in terms of being ready for that (first) Test match. So timing-wise, that still works.”
Konstas will also step out in the ODI format alongside exciting youngsters Mahli Beardman, with Spencer Johnson also returning as he seeks to build form after injury forced him out of the entire domestic season last year.
Australian selection chairman George Bailey is excited by the balance in the squad and said it served as an opportunity to shine ahead of what shapes as a massive 12 months of cricket for the country.
We are excited by these squads and what
“We are excited by these squads and what they might achieve out of the series,” he said.
“Many of these players have played international cricket, while for others it’s a continuation of previous opportunities across Australia A and CAXI formats.
“We consider these tours an important part of performance and developing game styles in subcontinent conditions as part of our continued investment into the Australia A program.
It’s a strong representation of players who will
“It’s a strong representation of players who will be in contention to be part of the group we take to India next year or see as having potential for further opportunities into the future.”
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Bailey said that a route into the Test team could come through various methods and the India A tour was important when it came to both identifying prospective players and also to ensuring they are capable of flourishing in different conditions.
“Sometimes it’s opportunity and that can come about a number of ways, as you know, through an injury or a retirement or a performance gap that you’re trying to fill,” he said.
A couple of those have been the style
“A couple of those have been the style or the way they’ve played … and how that could potentially fit into the way the team thinks it’s going to win a series or play a series. So … it’s hard to sort of separate them out when you when you’re talking like that.
“But I think when the opportunity arises and you combine that with the role that might be available, then I think that starts to make sense. The easiest way is to be really consistent through performance, and then whenever the opportunity arises, I think your name is always going to be in the mix.”
The discussion surrounding the form of Marnus Labuschagne and Jake Weatherald, who has been overlooked for the Australia A tour to give him time to find form in domestic cricket, has raised concerns as to who is playing well enough to replace them.
Bailey said the debate was great but said
Bailey said the “debate was great” but said those in the frame for potential Test duties, including McSweeney, Kellaway, Peake and Konstas, were exciting talents who had the capacity to flourish at international level.
“The exciting part from our end is just seeing the continual evolution of those batsmen, particularly the young ones,” he said.
“The older ones you’ve clearly seen a bit longer and it’s always exciting when they get really comfortable in their game and start to hit their straps as well, but that continual evolution of the young players, the ability for them to morph into getting some cricket in the sub-continent early this season, and then come back and have to adjust and adapt and jump into Shield cricket, that’s going to be really exciting too.
That’s an important component of what international cricket
“That’s an important component of what international cricket looks like, that you don’t get the same conditions month to month or series to series.
“So the debate is great. I love that there’s plenty of people who watch a lot of cricket externally who are throwing a lot of different names into the mix and that, I think, holds us in good stead (that) there’s plenty of names people are excited about.”
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Bailey also flagged the extended year of Test cricket ahead – Australia have played two of a possible 21 Tests over the next year – when discussing the presence of Richardson and Doggett on the India A tour.
Richardson returned from a significant shoulder injury
Richardson returned from a significant shoulder injury to play the Boxing Day Test but was subsequently left of the Australia contract list, but Bailey still believes the Western Australian can excel internationally, even if his speed has dipped.
“It’s a chance for him to get some some first class or red ball loads under his belt again, without projecting forward and knowing exactly what and who will be required on that Indian trip,” he said.
“Come early January, we’re going to need some depth in that area. (And) he’s an incredibly skillful bowler, Jhye. I don’t know if he’ll ever get back to that mid-140(kmh) pace that he had pre some of his shoulder injuries, but I don’t think he also necessarily needs to be at that to still have an enormous impact.
So the continual message to him, and hopefully
“So the continual message to him, and hopefully what we start to see, is just that ability to back up from innings to innings and game to game, and just be consistent around what that pace and what that execution looks like.”
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It is not just those who are at the start of their careers who are in the frame for selection, with Handscomb clearly in the mix for international duties again based on his strength on spinning wickets and his sustained excellence in domestic cricket.
The 35-year-old has averaged 37.2 from 20 Tests and most recently featured on the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy tour where he averaged a run lower than that.
He’s been a very consistent performer, I think,
“He’s been a very consistent performer, I think, over a number of years (and) age is irrelevant to that. We know that he has toured there in the past and he’s got a game that’s well suited there,” Bailey said.
“The other great benefit of having Pete on that tour is that he has had plenty of experience on the subcontinent. I think his thinking on the game and his ability to also help perhaps some of the younger or less-experienced batters around him navigate through that in terms of how they want to play, the method that they’re going to take into different games, will be really critical.
“So I think he can be really beneficial. I think it’s probably one of the drawbacks of it of it being called an A team. We should be called the Australian Wombats or something, hen it might take the the age profile out of it.”
Australia A – four-day matches
Brendan Doggett (SA/Glenelg Cricket Club)
Jack Edwards (NSW/Manly Warringah Cricket Club)
Peter Handscomb (VIC/St Kilda Cricket Club)
Sam Harper (VIC/Melbourne Cricket Club)
Liam Hatcher (NSW/Fairfield Liverpool Cricket Club)
Campbell Kellaway (VIC/Melbourne Cricket Club)
Sam Konstas (NSW/Sutherland District Cricket Club)
Nathan McSweeney (SA/Glenelg Cricket Club)
Todd Murphy (VIC/St Kilda Cricket Club)
Fergus O’Neill (VIC/Melbourne Cricket Club)
Josh Philippe (NSW/Western Suburbs District Cricket Club)
Jhye Richardson (WA/Fremantle Cricket Club)
Corey Rocchiccioli (WA/University Cricket Club)
Jason Sangha (SA/Kensington Cricket Club)
Liam Scott (SA/Glenelg Cricket Club)
Mahli Beardman (WA/Melville Cricket Club)
Nikhil Chaudhary (TAS/Glenorchy Cricket Club)
Ben Dwarshuis (NSW/Sutherland Cricket Club)
Aaron Hardie (WA/Willetton Cricket Club)
Spencer Johnson (SA/West Torrens Cricket Club)
Mitch Owen (TAS/New Town Cricket Club)
Tanveer Sangha (NSW/Campbelltown Camden Cricket Club)
Lachlan Shaw (NSW/Northern District Cricket Club)
Source: www.foxsports.com.au
