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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 — 9.45am

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 … and who?

Before we

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