Australia recall Paine after seven years

Tim Paine was handed a recall after a seven-year Test absence on Friday as Australia made sweeping changes for the first two Ashes Tests against England.

Paine comes into the 13-man squad along with batsmen Cameron Bancroft and Shaun Marsh. The 32-year-old wicketkeeper batsman, who was once on the brink of retirement over a serious finger fracture, was preferred to Wade and Peter Nevill for his first Test match since October 2010.

Bancroft, 24, is in line for his Test debut in place of Matt Renshaw, the opener, following a prolific run for Western Australia in this season's domestic Sheffield Shield competition. Bancroft, who is also a wicketkeeper, amassed an unbeaten 228 with other scores of 86, 76, 76 and 73 for his state side to force his Test claims.

Shaun Marsh, 34, also returns to Australian side and is slated to bat at number six to shore up the batting instead of Glenn Maxwell and Hilton Cartwright, the allrounders.

Only five players have retained their spot from Australia's last Test against Bangladesh in September.

Trevor Hohns, the national selector, said Paine has been in the sights of selectors.
"He's (Paine) our Twenty20 'keeper and performs well there, his batting has been pretty good of late and the other side of it... is the unconvincing performances of other contenders," said Hohns, according to Australian media.

Hohns added that Bancroft's weight of runs proved an irresistible claim. "Cameron has been a player of interest to us for some time now, having been unlucky to miss out on the Test tour to Bangladesh that was cancelled in 2015," Hohns said. "He is a very talented and tough cricketer who shows a good temperament for Test cricket."

Marsh earned his eighth recall to the Test side as selectors considered his domestic form. "Shaun is playing very well at the moment, having scored consistently in the One-Day Cup and first three rounds of the Sheffield Shield competition," Hohns said.

Chadd Sayers, the pacer, has been added to the strong fast-bowling line-up in the squad along with Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Jackson Bird to give selectors options.

The first Ashes Test is in Brisbane next week, with the second -- a day-night match -- in Adelaide from December 2.

Squad: Steve Smith (capt), David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine (wk), Chadd Sayers, Mitchell Starc.