Sport

Cricket

The Ashes

Opinion

The Ashes are here and Australia still haven’t found an opener. But mess isn’t all of selectors’ making

Malcolm Knox Journalist, author and columnist November 1, 2025 — 8.45am Advertisement

Maybe David Warner was right, and the Australian selectors really did have to put up with the mediocrity of his declining years because there was no-one better.

Equally, letting Warner go on and on when Australia could have been cultivating new top-order batsmen might have been the selectorial chicken that was always going to come home to roost in the 2025-26 Ashes.

The evidence, unfortunately for Australia, supports both arguments. Neither one matters now. The Ashes has arrived and the top-order will consist of a 38-year-old converted first-drop and … an

See Full Page