australia's 17 man squad to defend the ashes against england this summer is packed with pace men as well as a fair share of ageing stars ten of their squad are in their thirties, paving the way for a raft of dad’s army references that will gather momentum if they get off to a bad start in cardiff nonetheless, this is a squad that i would pick to defend the urn never mind planning for the future, their tour will be all about the present team australia celebrate after winning the cricket world cup before naming their ashes squad  nice balance  my first thought when i saw the squad was that it’s the way i’d have gone about selection a five test series in england is not the time to experiment and the australians have put faith in experience australia's selection of adam voges will bring an experienced head with them this summer  adam voges is an interesting choice: like chris rogers, he knows english conditions well it’s not a tour for blooding a young batsman it’s also why they’ve gone with peter siddle among the seamers if ryan harris breaks down, siddle can slot straight in firepower  if mitchell johnson bowls anything like he did during the last ashes, australia should win both sides know there’s still some scarring mitchell starc managed to swing the white kookaburra during the world cup so he should be able to swing the red dukes ball in england he swings it late, too — as brendon mccullum found out in the final fast bowler mitchell johnson will be hoping to terrorise english batsmen like he did last time around  i was impressed with josh hazlewood, too he could prosper in england with his hit the deck style harris always has wicket taking potential, although i wonder how quickly he’ll slot back in after sitting out the west indies tour no 3 the key  the series could hinge on australia’s no 3 whoever it is, england will think they have a chance shane watson has done the job in the past without ever really making it his own and there’s been talk of steve smith moving up the order steve smith has been in sensational form and could get moved up the batting order to no 3  he’s in the form of his life but he still moves around a lot at the crease if the ball’s swinging, that could spell trouble the other option would be voges, who has just averaged 104 in the sheffield shield age concern  i firmly believe you should try to get every last drop out of some of these cricketers, especially in an ashes as england discovered in 2013 14, an ageing side is only a problem if the players are approaching retirement, like graeme swann at 37 years old, brad haddin is likely to be playing his last ashes along with a few others  but for someone like rogers this tour will be a last hurrah i’ll be watching brad haddin he’s a fierce competitor but he’s 37 and keeping in england can be tricky because of the late swing dodgy at the back  part of the reason michael clarke has given up one day internationals is to manage his dodgy back mike atherton will tell you a bad back can go at any moment, although clarke looked physically sharp during the world cup captain michael clarke will be hoping he doesn't suffer a recurrence of his back problems  but if the australia captain’s back is stiff when they play in england, the bowlers will test out the 33 year old’s suppleness against the short ball he’s still vulnerable early on michael clarke (capt) age 33  caps 108  verdict age has not diminished his class, as he proved in the world cup final but his dodgy back could be an issue in a five test series should out captain alastair cook once more david warner  age 28  caps 36  verdict could win a test or two by himself if he bats for a couple of sessions moeen ali’s off breaks will be crucial in pinning him down likes to say a word or two shane watson  age 33  caps 56  verdict has a decent record in ashes cricket, but has never reached the stage where he frightens england but his medium pace balances australia’s team in a way cook can only envy shaun marsh  age 31  caps 12  verdict a gritty left hander, and son of former test opener geoff began test career with 141 in sri lanka in 2011, but success has been sporadic since then cv includes six ducks mitchell johnson  age 33  caps 64  verdict if england haven’t got over the trauma of the 2013 14 series, when johnson took 37 wickets at 13 apiece, the ashes will stay with australia josh hazlewood  age 24  caps 3  verdict one of a batch of promising australian fast bowlers, he proved economical beyond his years during the successful world cup campaign a flawless action bodes well james faulkner  age 24  caps 1  verdict played his only test to date at the oval in 2013, where he got up england’s noses by accusing them of boring batting a left arm seam bowling all rounder, he can give the ball an almighty whack james pattinson  age 24  caps 13  verdict injuries have limited him since he burst on to the scene in 2011 12, but the talent is undeniable: tall, aggressive and fast, he should trouble england more than his brother, darren, when playing for england in a single test against south africa in 2008 peter siddle  age 30  caps 56  verdict the banana loving seamer is a veteran of two ashes tours, and could provide relentless accuracy while the quicker bowlers fire around him kevin pietersen, for one, found him almost impossible to score off in 2013 14 brad haddin (wkt) age 37  caps 63  verdict australia’s second most important cog in their 5 0 ashes wheel in 2013 14, after mitchell johnson his sledging from behind the stumps is considered the heartbeat of the team chris rogers  age 37  caps 20  verdict this will be his last hurrah in a late blooming test career calm, compact and the perfect foil for the exuberance of his opening partner warner steve smith (vice captain) age 25  caps 26  verdict one of world cricket’s rising stars, he scored four tons in australia’s recent home series against india will captain the side full time after clarke retires, and can burgle the odd wicket with his leg spin nathan lyon  age 27  caps 39  verdict a steady off spinner who troubled england’s right handers  during whitewash but, really, they should have nothing to fear mitchell starc  age 25  caps 15  verdict another left arm seamer, and man of the tournament at the world cup his yorkers are as dangerous in tests as they are in odis, and  accuracy and pace have improved ryan harris  age 35  caps 27  verdict if he can drag his injury laden body through one final series, australia will be thrilled he was an unsung star during their 3 0 defeat here two years ago, and produced the ball of the series to bowl cook in perth josh hazlewood  age 24  caps 3  verdict one of a batch of promising australian fast bowlers, he proved economical beyond his years during the successful world cup campaign a flawless action bodes well fawad ahmed  age 33  caps 20  verdict the pakistan born leg spinner has played only three one day internationals and two twenty20 games for australia, so would represent a risk but australian leggies have done well in england before…  michael clarke (capt) age 33  caps 108  verdict age has not diminished his class, as he proved in the world cup final but his dodgy back could be an issue in a five test series should out captain alastair cook once more david warner  age 28  caps 36  verdict could win a test or two by himself if he bats for a couple of sessions moeen ali’s off breaks will be crucial in pinning him down likes to say a word or two shane watson  age 33  caps 56  verdict has a decent record in ashes cricket, but has never reached the stage where he frightens england but his medium pace balances australia’s team in a way cook can only envy shaun marsh  age 31  caps 12  verdict a gritty left hander, and son of former test opener geoff began test career with 141 in sri lanka in 2011, but success has been sporadic since then cv includes six ducks mitchell johnson  age 33  caps 64  verdict if england haven’t got over the trauma of the 2013 14 series, when johnson took 37 wickets at 13 apiece, the ashes will stay with australia peter siddle  age 30  caps 56  verdict the banana loving seamer is a veteran of two ashes tours, and could provide relentless accuracy while the quicker bowlers fire around him kevin pietersen, for one, found him almost impossible to score off in 2013 14 mitchell marsh  age 23  caps 4  verdict a rangy all rounder and younger brother of shaun, marsh stunned england during the world cup with figures of 5 for 33 at melbourne – despite having taken only six odi wickets until then his batting is the stronger suit peter nevill  age 29  caps 0  verdict peter who? nevill has been chosen as the reserve wicketkeeper behind his new south wales team mate haddin, although he has also played as a specialist batsman for his state team unlikely to get a game unless haddin breaks a finger adam voges  age 35  caps 0  verdict an outsider for a test debut, but he knows english conditions well – voges has spent time with hampshire, middlesex and nottinghamshire – and bowls left arm spin to complement his middle order hitting
england australia 2015 this summer michael clarke chris rogers brad haddin dad's army' nasser hussain
england host australia for the 2015 ashes on home turf this summer . with players including michael clarke (33), chris rogers (37) and brad haddin (37), australia could face accusations of being a 'dad's army'. nonetheless, this is the squad that nasser hussain would pick 