Australia confirm who will open with Warner in the first Ashes Test vs England

Australian selector George Bailey has revealed who will open alongside David Warner in the first Ashes Test against England next month

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Australia ‘s chairman of selectors George Bailey has confirmed that Marcus Harris is set to open the batting alongside David Warner in the first Ashes Test against England.

During Australia’s last Test series against India, Matthew Wade, Joe Burns, Will Pucovski and Harris all batted at the top of the order.

Although Harris ended the series as Warner’s opening partner, he was only brought back into the team because Pucovski had suffered a shoulder injury in the third Test.

Pucovski was thought to be the frontrunner to partner Warner during the Ashes, having impressed with a first innings half-century against India on debut.

However, the 23-year-old suffered his tenth concussion last month and was ruled out of contention for the first Test against England as a result.

Now, Harris has been given the nod by Bailey, following some prolific seasons for Victoria in the Sheffield Shield and an excellent stint in the County Championship with Leicestershire.

He also struck an impressive 137 in Victoria’s recent win over New South Wales.

“It gives you great confidence as a selector when you know your opening batters are locked away as far as a Test series go,” Bailey told RSN radio.

“It’s a hard spot to bat and to get those places settled, it’s really important.

“Harry’s only had a limited opportunity in the past, and he’s been in and out a bit, so we’d love nothing more than for him to hopefully to get an opportunity to get an extended run at it.

“What we have liked is his consistency. He’s obviously been a prolific run-scorer at domestic level here, but also love the fact he went overseas and had a great year for Leicester as well.”

One dilemma which remains for the selectors is who will bat at number five, with the likes of Usman Khawaja and Travis Head in contention for the spot.