Cricket Australia announced a 15-man Test squad on Tuesday for their tour of Sri Lanka in July this year.
New South Wales all-rounder Moises Henriques will return to the squad for the first time since 2013. The 29-year-old has worn baggy green just thrice the last time during the Indian tour in 2013.
The left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc also returns to the squad after his fully recovery from the stress fracture in his right foot that he endured during the inaugural day/night Test against the Kiwis at Adelaide last year.
The Sri Lankan tour will see Australia play first Test since their ascend to No.1 spot after 0-2 series win over New Zealand in New Zealand.
Victorian James Pattinson is unavailable for the tour due to the recurrence of stress fracture in his back.
“James experienced lower back pain during the second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch and was given some time to rest. Unfortunately his back pain continued during this time and after further investigation it confirmed that he has had a recurrence of a back stress fracture, ,” remarked David Beakly, Australian cricket team’s physiotherapist.
“James will continue to spend the winter recovering from this injury, at which point we hope to have a clearer view of timelines for his return to play.”
The injured pacer James Siddle also misses out from the tour.
Along with Henriques and Starc, Steve O’Keefe returns to the squad. He last played in whites for Australia in January earlier this year against the West Indies.
The Australia ODI and T20I squads will be announced in due course.
Australia will play three Tests, five One-Day Internationals and two T20 Internationals on the Lankan tour.
Test Squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (v-c), Jackson Bird, Joe Burns, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Peter Nevill, Stephen O’Keefe, Mitchell Starc, Adam Voges.
