Aaron Finch has been named in Australia’s Test squad against Pakistan. JUSTIN Langer has named Aaron Finch in his first Test squad as Australia coach, and the 31-year-old was not the only surprise selection in the 15-man group. Finch will be joined for the two-Test series against Pakistan by fellow Victorian Peter Siddle, however his state teammates Glenn Maxwell, Peter Handscomb and Chris Tremain all missed out on selection. Finch is one of five uncapped players in the squad, alongside quicks Brendan Doggett and Michael Neser, and batsmen Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne. Get ready for cricket like never before. FREE Sport HD + Entertainment until the first 4K cricket ball as part of 3 months free on a 12 month plan. SIGN UP TODAY. T&Cs apply. Peter Siddle has been called up after impressing in England. Source: Getty Images READ MORE 93 WICKETS AT 20.12 OVER TWO SUMMERS: SHIELD GUNS SNUBBED ‘I’D BE ROPEABLE’: PONTING SLAMS MAXWELL’S TEST OMISSION Finch dominated England’s T20 Blast (589 at 147.25) and has averaged 52.65 in one-day international cricket since the start of 2017. However, his first-class average sits at a modest 36.15 and he was not among the standout batsmen in last summer’s Sheffield Shield season (404 at 35.28). Nevertheless, Ricky Ponting is backing him to succeed in the five-day format. “His four-day cricket for Victoria has probably been better than anyone else in the country, probably apart from (Matthew) Renshaw,” Ponting told cricket.com.au. Like Finch, Siddle’s selection comes off the back of a bumper stint in England. The 33-year-old took 37 wickets at 16.40 runs apiece for division one county side Essex. With Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins both ruled out of the tour of the United Arab Emirates, Siddle will be looking to play his first Test since November 2016. He will be vying for selection against Queensland’s Michael Neser and Brendan Doggett, who beat Tremain to selection in the squad. Given no man has taken more wickets over the past two Sheffield Shield seasons than Tremain (93 at 20.12), the right-armer can feel hard done by. Jon Holland is vying for selection over Ashton Agar. Source: Getty Images Left-arm finger-spinners Jon Holland and Ashton Agar will be fighting it out to be named Australia’s second-spinner alongside Nathan Lyon on the dusty tracks of the UAE. Handscomb’s ommission comes after a lean tour of India with the A team — he averaged 4.00 across five innings before the squad was announced — while neither Maxwell nor imcumbent Test opener Joe Burns got the chance to mount a case for selection in the subcontinent. Langer said Maxwell needed to notch more big scores regularly to be in contention. “I’d love to see Maxy score more hundreds and we’ve talked a lot together about the art of concentration and watching the ball like a hawk,” he said. “If he does that more regularly, he will make more hundreds and be much more pickable for Test cricket.” Burns was ruled out of a stint with county side Glamaorgan in August due to a back injury but was hoping to be fit in time for the Pakistan Tests. In their absensce, both Head and Labuschagne impressed. The South Australian helped himself to a List A ton at the start of the tour before notching half-centuries in both four-dayers, while Labuschange scored two fifties. Usman Khawaja and Mitchell Marsh each ensured their selections with first-class tons for Australia A. TEST SQUAD Tim Paine (c), Ashton Agar, Brendan Doggett, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Michael Neser, Matt Renshaw, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc<doc-sep>Pakistan have announced their 17-man squad for the Test matches against Australia in UAE. The two-match Test series is scheduled to commence on 7 October 2018 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. However, Pakistani speedster Mohammad Amir has been excluded from the 17-man squad, which has raised a few eyebrows. Despite Amir's failure in the recent ODI matches, he had performed well in England. Mohammad Amir has picked up 12 wickets in Test cricket in 2018, at an average of 18.42 and a strike rate of 47.25. He had also performed well in Pakistan's Test series against England in England. The players who have succeeded to book their place in Pakistan's squad against Australia are mentioned below: Azhar Ali Fakhar Zaman Imam Ul Haq Babar Azam Asad Shafiq Haris Sohail Usman Salahuddin Sarfraz Ahmed (c & wk) Yasir Shah Shadab Khan Bilal Asif Muhammad Abbas Hassan Ali Wahab Riaz Faheem Ashraf Mir Hamza Muhammad Rizwan (wk) The Pakistani squad seems to be a perfect blend of freshness and experience, as the experienced players have been included alongside some fresh talents. Pakistan are a strong Test side when they play at their home and their players have the capacity to beat a weakened Aussie Test side, who are hurt by the absence of David Warner and Steven Smith. Pakistan also has a strong bowling attack, with Mohammad Abbas leading the pace bowling unit and Yasir Shah leading the spin-bowling unit. On the other hand, Australia have already announced their Test squad that will play. Senior players like Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, etc. will have a lot to prove in those conditions. Besides, the role of Aaron Finch and Usman Khwaja would also be vital if the Aussies want to get back to comfortable ways. The members of the Australian Test squad should take the absence of Smith and Warner as an opportunity to show the whole world that they are still strong enough to compete.<doc-sep>AUSTRALIA’S hopes of pulling off a morale-boosting win in their first Test series under Justin Langer have been sabotaged by Pakistan’s decision to roll out a questionable side for the tour’s only warm-up match. No frontline spinners have been selected in the Pakistan A side which Australia will use as their only practice for the two-Test series, in a pointed decision designed to destroy Australia’s preparation. Australia were routed by Pakistan 2-0 in their last tour in the UAE, with spin proving their undoing as Zulfiqar Babar and Yasir Shah combined to take 26 wickets in the Test demolition. MORE NEWS PROMISE: How Aussie ace steeled young gun for big time FREEDOM: Watson makes big call on Aussie vice-captain Shah, and Brisbane Heat’s teenage leg-spin sensation Shadab Khan, are the dangermen this time around with spin again expected to play an enormous part in the two-Test series in the UAE, which begins on October 7. Australia selected three specialist spinners in their 15-man squad and Langer is likely to deploy the spin duo of Nathan Lyon and Jon Holland in the opening Test, with left-armer Ashton Agar in the mix to add a third frontline spin option in an all-rounder role. However any plans his under-fire batsmen had of readying themselves for Pakistan’s spin mastery have been thrown into disarray by a comical decision by the home side to shield Australia from any frontline spinners in the tour’s only practice match. The four-day first class match against Pakistan A starts from Saturday at the ICC Academy, with veteran batsman Asad Shafiq leading a squad that boasts Test-capped players Usman Salahuddin, Wahab Riaz and Rahat Ali. But, curiously, the squad is devoid of spinners — in a move that smacks of the home side determined to deny Australia a chance to face top-quality spin in trying conditions. LISTEN: Australian women’s team vice-captain Rachael Haynes joins the Cricket Unfiltered podcast to discuss the big summer ahead, her career to date and this week in headlines. Subscribe on iTunes HERE. Instead, only part-time offspinners Iftikhar Ahmed and Agha Salman have been selected. It is not uncommon for touring teams to face weakened second XI line-ups — and often on pitches that aren’t similar to those on which the Test series will be played. In India last year Australia were treated to a flat wicket in Mumbai in their warm-up — with uncapped youngster Shreyas Iyer blasting a double century a week out from the opening Test, where curators offered a raging turner on a Pune dustbowl. Australia were themselves accused of trying to derail England’s Ashes hopes over summer, with former England captain Michael Vaughan slamming the quality of opposition selected in warm-up matches. In England’s first match they played an inexperienced Western Australian XI, captained by talented, but injury-prone, quick Nathan Coulter-Nile — while their second produced a victory for the tourists by 192 runs against an Australian outfit largely boasting players yet to make their first class debuts. PAKISTAN A SQUAD: Sami Aslam, Abid Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Asad Shafiq (capt), Usman Salahuddin, Saad Ali, Agha Salman, M Rizwan (wk), Waqas Maqsood, Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Aamer Yami, Umaid Asif and Saud Shakeel. Get ready for cricket like never before. FREE Sport HD + Entertainment until the first 4K cricket ball as part of 2 months free on a 12 month plan. SIGN UP TODAY. T&Cs apply.<doc-sep>
Justin Langer has named his XI for the four-day practice match against Pakistan A. JUSTIN Langer’s first Test XI has become clearer after selections for Australia’s four-day tour game against Pakistan A were announced on cricket.com.au. Out of the five uncapped players named in the Test squad, three have been handed opportunities to impress in the tour match - Aaron Finch, Travis Head and Michael Neser. Spinner Jon Holland - who has only played two Tests - has also been picked to partner Nathan Lyon. Missing out from the 15-man squad are Ashton Agar, Brendan Doggett, Marnus Labuschagne and Peter Siddle. Get ready for cricket like never before. FREE Sport HD + Entertainment until the first 4K cricket ball as part of 2 months free with no lock-in contract. SIGN UP TODAY. T&Cs apply. Aaron Finch has been named in Australia’s XI for the four-day clash against Pakistan A. Source: News Corp Australia Agar was included in the squad as a potential third-spinning option, but his omission will likely see part-time off-spinner Head fulfil the role while batting in the middle-order. The tour match will hand Finch an opportunity to prove his red-ball credentials after playing 93 ODIs but not one Test for his nation. He’s expected to open the batting alongside Matt Renshaw, who was one of two opening replacements for David Warner and Cameron Bancroft in South Africa. That will leave Usman Khawaja at his familiar No.3 despite scoring 167 runs in his one match as opener against India A earlier this month. READ MORE ‘IT’S NO SECRET’: HAZLEWOOD’S QUICK FIX TO AUSSIE LEADERSHIP TENSION STRUGGLING PAKISTAN PACEMAN DUMPED FOR AUSSIE TESTS AUSTRALIA’S NEW-LOOK LEADERSHIP GROUP CONFIRMED Shaun Marsh and Head are expected to follow in the order before Mitch Marsh, who will for the first time act in his official capacity as vice-captain. Neser has been favoured as Mitchell Starc’s strike partner after impressing in the subcontinent during the ‘A’ tour. The Queenslander - who was also the Sheffield Shield’s second-highest wicket-taker last season - claimed six wickets at 24.16 during two four-day matches, with an economy rate of 3.06. He was picked over Bulls teammate Doggett and Victoria’s Siddle, who earnt a shock recall to the Test squad two years after his last appearance. Michael Neser has been picked for the four-dayer against Pakistan A. Source: News Corp Australia Holland will partner Lyon to complete Australia’s spin attack for the first time since August 2016 . Meanwhile, Pakistan have left out struggling pace spearhead Mohammad Amir from its 17-member squad for the two-match Test series. The 26-year-old fast bowler, who returned from a five-year ban for match-fixing in January 2016, had a wicketless Asia Cup in which he was dropped for two matches. Australia XI for tour match v Pakistan A: Tim Paine (c), Aaron Finch, Matthew Renshaw, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Michael Neser, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Jon Holland. Pakistan A squad: Asad Shafiq (c), Sami Aslam, Abid Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Usman Salahuddin, Saad Ali, Agha Salman, Muhammad Rizwan, Waqas Maqsood, Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Amir Yamin, Umaid Asif, Saud Shakeel.