Former Test spinner Kerry O’Keeffe has called for Australia to pick two debutants for November’s Ashes series opener in Perth, selecting uncapped batters Jake Weatherald and Jason Sangha in his preferred starting XI.
During Fox Cricket’s broadcast of the first T20 between Australia and South Africa in Darwin, O’Keeffe was asked who he wanted playing the first Test against England, naming Weatherald and Usman Khawaja as the openers with Sangha at No. 3. Cameron Green slides down to No. 6 in his hypothetical starting XI, squeezing all-rounder Beau Webster out of the side.
“We’ve got to move on,” O’Keeffe declared.
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However, O’Keeffe acknowledged that Marnus Labuschagne would return to the Test side if he started his Sheffield Shield campaign with a bang.
“If he gets early Shield runs, he’ll destroy my top order,” O’Keeffe continued.
Weatherald was the Sheffield Shield’s leading run-scorer last summer with 906 runs at 50.33, including three hundreds and three fifties. He maintained a healthy strike rate of 68.27 in the red-ball competition, with O’Keeffe comparing him to one of England’s Bazballers.
“He’s a Ben Duckett at the top of the order,” he declared.
Meanwhile, Sangha revived his first-class career after migrating to South Australia last year, contributing 704 runs at 78.22 for his adopted state during the 2024/25 summer. He helped the Redbacks win their first Sheffield Shield final in 29 years with an unbeaten 126 against Queensland at Karen Rolton Oval in March.
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Elsewhere, former Australian batter Mark Waugh wanted Labuschagne to replace teenage opener Sam Konstas in the Test side ahead of the Ashes, with the Queenslander partnering Khawaja at the top of the order.
“I still think he’s in our six best batsmen in Australia,” Waugh said of Labuschagne.
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