I think there are a couple of positions up for grabs ahead of Ashes, claims Justin Langer

Australia coach Justin Langer will be scratching his head over who makes the Ashes squad as the potential candidates gear up for a historic ‘Australia vs Australia’ match tomorrow. Langer today confirmed ‘three or four’ of those positions are up for grabs as selection panel chair Trevor Hohns will pay close heed to the four-day game between 12-man teams coached by Brad Haddin and Graeme Hick at Southampton's Ageas Bowl.

"I think there is a couple of bowling positions up for grabs, probably a couple of batting positions. There will be a lot of discussion about whether we have an extra spinner, a lot of discussion about whether we have an extra wicketkeeper. It won’t necessarily be a straight shootout, but there will certainly be good opportunities for guys," Langer told reporters as per cricket.au.com.

Langer, who played 105 Test matches for Australia and scored 7696 runs in the process, added that the return of Steven Smith, David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft will make things interesting as far as team selection is concerned.

"It was a bit the same when Pete Handscomb missed out on the World Cup squad, he was replaced by Steve Smith. It was really tough on him, he'd done a great job and who knows, the cards might fall that way. If that's the case it will be really stiff but that's the business. If someone was to miss out after scoring a Test hundred, it's not a bad thing to have someone just outside who's already scored a recent Test hundred. We've always prided ourselves on that in Australian cricket, and let's just hope it keeps happening," Langer added.