Ashes 2017/18: Australia's probable Test squad

Middle-order

They will form the bedrock of the middle-order

Usman Khawaja

Despite Shaun Marsh's impressive start to the Shield season, Usman Khawaja looks certain to take the No.3 spot in the side. He has already been informed of his inclusion prior to the start of the domestic season and is in great form as well. He scored a fifty in both innings against New South Wales and apart from that he also has a century.

Steve Smith

His technique might not be textbook but there is little doubt about his ability to grind out runs. Averaging nearly 60 in Tests, Smith will come into the Ashes with a fifty and century in the game against Western Australia, who boast of one of the bowling attacks in the country and will be in the mood to add to his tally of 5 Ashes centuries.

Peter Handscomb

Although Handscomb is still young in terms of his international career, he has already got off to a great start. An average of over 50 in 10 Tests that has seen him score two centuries and four fifties is proof of that. He will look to ensure that the familiar middle-order woes that plague Australia in the last Ashes Down Under aren't repeated.