Rod Marsh has spent little time resting on his laurels, with the chief selector finalising a squad for the Ashes on Tuesday.
Australia’s World Cup winners aren’t the only ones nursing headaches, with Marsh and his colleagues sifting through the contenders for tours to the Caribbean and England.
Those squads will be revealed at 10am AEDT on Tuesday.
Cricket Australia will also announce its new contract list, in addition to an Australia A squad for a winter series in India.
It’s expected the Windies-Ashes squad will feature approximately 16-17 players, with a back-up wicketkeeper and second spinner likely to be included.
NSW gloveman Peter Nevill and Victoria’s Matthew Wade are the leading contenders to be Brad Haddin’s understudy, while 2013 Ashes hero Ashton Agar and potential Test debutant Fawad Ahmed are locked in a battle to be Nathan Lyon’s spin sidekick.
Mitch Marsh has impressed in his four-Test career, however he faces stiff opposition from James Faulkner for an allrounder berth.
Veteran Adam Voges, having tallied 1358 runs to set a new Western Australian record in a stellar Sheffield Shield campaign, will vie with Queensland’s Joe Burns to be taken as the reserve batsman.
World Cup heroes Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson and Josh Hazlewood could also double as Australia’s Test attack in the West Indies.
Victorians James Pattinson and Peter Siddle will also come under consideration, however Ryan Harris will skip the Caribbean trip in an effort to make sure he is cherry ripe for the Ashes.
Voges and Ahmed starred in the recent Shield final, while the likes of Faulkner and Glenn Maxwell were denied a chance to press their red-ball claims due to the World Cup that started on February 14 and ran for six weeks.
Clarke used himself as a shining example of the fact that form in any format counts.
“When I got picked for my first Test in India, that was on the back of a lot of one-day cricket because I wasn’t around to play Sheffield Shield,” the captain said.
“I don’t think it matters what format you’re playing, if you’re performing, the selectors will be looking at you.
“There’s a number of players in this (World Cup) team that have done everything in their power to get selected.
“Now it’s up to the selectors to work out what they think the best squad is for West Indies.”
