Marnus Labuschagne has been dropped from the first Test against West Indies due to continued poor form in the last few series. While Steven Smith has been ruled out of the first Test owing to an injury he suffered in the WTC final in his finger. Sam Konstas and Josh Inglis has been named as their replacements.
The two changes were confirmed with five days to go before the opening Test against West Indies at Barbados on June 25. This means Australia will have a different batting line-up compared to what they had in the World Test Championship Final against South Africa. Sam Konstas will earn his third cap having not played since the two outings against India in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. He began with a score of 60 off 65 balls at the MCG. Inglis scored a century on his Test debut against Sri Lanka in Galle earlier this year.
George Bailey’s comments on Marnus Labuschagne’s omission
Marnus Labuschagne had been moved to open the batting in the WTC final from his designated Number 3 spot. The selectors had opted to show a last show of faith to him hoping he scores big. But he came away with scores of 17 and 22 which meant he continued a two-year lean run in Test cricket.
Chairman of Selectors George Bailey spoke to the media and spoke about the exclusion of Marnus Labuschagne. He said, \
“Marnus at his best can be a really important member of this team. He understands his output hasn’t been at the level we, or, he, expects. We will continue working with him on the areas of his game we feel he needs to rediscover. We continue to value his skill and expect him to work through the challenge positively,”
George Bailey comments on Steven Smith’s injury
Steven Smith suffered a compound dislocation to the little finger on his right hand while dropping a chance at first slip offered by Temba Bavuma on the third day at Lord’s. He avoided surgery but has to wear a splint for eight weeks. However, there is hope that he will be able to play in the latter part of the series against West Indies.
Speaking about Smith Bailey said,
“Steve needs more time for the wound to heal so we’ll give him another week’s rest and assess his functionality after that. We have made the decision to give Josh and Sam the opportunity to replace Steve and Marnus. We are excited to see them get the chance to further their fledgling Test careers. In his only opportunity in Test cricket to date, Josh was outstanding in Sri Lanka, showing great intent and ability to put pressure on the opposition.”
The Road Ahead for Aussies
Australia begin their next WTC cycle against West Indies at Barbados on 25th June. It will be a totally different playing XI for the Aussies compared to the WTC Final. The final XI will be confirmed when we get closer to the Test match. But it seems that Sam Konstas will open the batting with out-of-form batter Usman Khawaja.
Depending on conditions in Barbados, Australia could go in with two frontline spinners. Nathan Lyon will be partnered with Matt Kuhnemann. It all depends on the conditions after all. So, it will be interesting to see what the playing XI will be for Australia and for the West Indies. Exciting times ahead for all of us as the new WTC cycle looks to entertain all of us with this West Indies-Australia 3-match series starting on the 25th of June.
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