Marsh brothers to play New Zealand in tour match

Shaun Marsh and Mitchell Marsh will join a group of fellow Test contenders to play for a Cricket Australia XI against New Zealand in a two-day tour match this weekend. The match in Canberra follows on from the Prime Minister's XI game on Friday and Usman Khawaja will captain both outfits, with four changes to his team for the two-day game on Saturday-Sunday.

The Marsh brothers will replace the Hussey brothers and use the match as a warm-up for a possible inclusion for the first Test against New Zealand at the Gabba, while wicketkeeper Sam Whiteman and fast bowler Billy Stanlake will join the side to replace Ryan Carters and Mark Steketee respectively.

Shaun Marsh may find himself competing for a place in the Test line-up with openers Cameron Bancroft and Joe Burns, both of whom are in the CA XI as well as the PM's XI. Adam Voges, Peter Siddle, Jason Behrendorff and Ashton Agar round out the side and will play in both Friday's PM's XI game and the two-day contest.

"Similar to the Prime Minister's XI squad, this two-day match will provide an opportunity for us to monitor a group of highly-rated players ahead of the first Test at the Gabba," national selector Rod Marsh said. "Shaun, Mitch and Sam all are all very talented players and we're keen to see what they can produce against New Zealand.

"Billy Stanlake grabbed our attention when he made his debut in this year's Matador Cup with an intimidating display against South Australia, taking 3 for 43 from nine overs.

"This is also another good leadership opportunity for Usman Khawaja. He performed well when he captained Australia A side on the recent tour of India and this will allow him to build on that experience."

Cricket Australia XI Cameron Bancroft, Joe Burns, Shaun Marsh, Usman Khawaja (capt), Adam Voges, Mitchell Marsh, Sam Whiteman, Ashton Agar, Peter Siddle, Jason Behrendorff, Billy Stanlake, Ben Taylor (ACT, 12th man).