Adelaide Strikers pair Travis Head and Michael Neser have retained their spots in the Australian Test squad for the upcoming Domain Test series against New Zealand.
Head will continue as joint vice-captain of the squad alongside Pat Cummins with the omission of Western Australian batsman Cameron Bancroft the only change to the squad which defeated Pakistan.
Left-hand batsman Head, who turns 26 later this month, did not bat in the Adelaide Oval day-night Test concluding on Monday such was Australia’s dominance.
He boasts a Test average of 42 from 14 matches with six half-centuries and one Test ton to his name.
Allrounder Neser, who has represented Australia in two One-Day Internationals, has long been on the fringe of Test selection due to his consistent performances at domestic level.
Australia National selector Trevor Hohns said continuity was important for the squad after the successful series against Pakistan.
“As we said prior to the Pakistan series we are striving to maintain a core group of players. The performance of the team against Pakistan was very impressive across all areas, while there is always some room to improve,” he said.
“We are backing the current batting line-up to continue their form across the next three Tests.”
The three-Test series against New Zealand begins with a day-night Test in Perth beginning next Thursday, 12 December.
SQUAD FOR DOMAIN TEST SERIES VS NEW ZEALAND
Tim Paine (c) (Tasmania)
Joe Burns (Queensland)
Pat Cummins (vc) (New South Wales)
Josh Hazelwood (New South Wales)
Travis Head (vc) (South Australia)
Marnus Labuschagne (Queensland)
Nathan Lyon (New South Wales)
Michael Neser (Queensland)
James Pattinson (Victoria)
Steven Smith (New South Wales)
Mitchell Starc (New South Wales)
Matthew Wade (Tasmania)
David Warner (New South Wales)
First Domain Test: December 12-16 at Perth Stadium (d/n)
Second Domain Test: December 26-30 at Melbourne Cricket Ground
Third Domain Test: January 3-7 at Sydney Cricket Ground
