After a setback in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa at Lord’s, Australia batter Travis Head said the team has extra motivation to do well in the upcoming three-match Test series against West Indies starting on Wednesday. Australia lost to the Proteas by five wickets and failed to defend their WTC title earlier this month.
With the start of the new WTC cycle, Travis Head wants his teammates not to dwell on the loss to the Proteas when they take on the Caribbean side.Travis Head expressed confidence that Labuschagne will soon make his way back into the Test side and backed Inglis to make the most of his opportunity in Smith’s absence.
Australia’s new look squad in WI without Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne
Australia will be without star batter Steve Smith for the opening Test against the West Indies, as the experienced right-hander continues to recover from the finger injury he sustained while fielding during the WTC final loss. Also absent is former world No.1 Test batter Marnus Labuschagne, who has been dropped from the side. In their place, teenager Sam Konstas and batter Josh Inglis have been named in the squad for the first Test at Kensington Oval.
Opener Sam Konstas and reserve wicketkeeper Josh Inglis will both play in the first Test against West Indies as Australia named a new-look batting line-up for the first Test against the West Indies in Barbados next week on 25th June. Steven Smith has been forced out of the side through injury and an out-of-form Marnus Labuschagne dropped.
The incoming pair Josh Inglis and Sam Konstas have impressed in their early outings, with Konstas turning heads in taking on world No.1 Test bowler Jasprit Bumrah and compiling a half-century on Boxing Day in Melbourne, and Josh Inglis scoring a century on Test debut in Sri Lanka earlier this year.
There are only four members of the Australia squad in the West Indies who were part of their previous Test series here in 2015, and one of those, Steven Smith, is currently recuperating from a finger injury in New York. So it’s perhaps not surprising that there is an element of uncertainty over what conditions they will be confronted with for the opening match in Barbados.
Their first training session of the tour at Kensington Oval, an optional one where all the batters attended but all the bowlers sat out bar Matt Kuhnemann, was interrupted by showers on a blustery day with the Test pitch uncovered only briefly. The batters made use of what time was available on the adjacent surfaces but the players have kept an open mind, with the Dukes ball used in the Caribbean – a variant on the English version – adding another layer of intrigue.
An out-of-form Marnus Labuschagne has been dropped for the opening Test against the West Indies in Barbados this week, while fellow batting stalwart Smith is nursing an injured finger. Sam Konstas and Josh Inglis, who have only played two Tests each, compared to the combined 175 of Smith and Labuschagne, replace them.
Sam Konstas is expected to open at Kensington Oval with Usman Khawaja — a role Labuschagne filled in the recent World Test Championship final — with Josh Inglis coming in anywhere from three to six. Travis Head has a belief that Australia are experienced enough to cope as they prepare for their first Test without Steve Smith or Marnus Labuschagne since 2018.
Travis Head opens up on playing without Steven Smith & Marnus Labuschagne
Travis Head believes Australia have the experience to cover the absences of batting duo Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne for what will be the first time in more than six-and-a-half years. Not since the Boxing Day Test against India in 2018 – when Smith was serving a year-long ban over the ball tampering scandal earlier that year – has Australia fielded a Test team without either him or Labuschagne in it.
Marnus Labuschagne has played 53 consecutive Tests after coming into the side mid-match at Lord’s in 2019 when Smith was subbed out with concussion, while the latter’s streak stands at 51 matches having played every Test since his return at Old Trafford in the fourth Test of that Ashes series.
An out-of-form Labuschagne has been dropped for the opening Test against the West Indies in Barbados this week, while fellow batting stalwart Smith is nursing an injured finger. Sam Konstas and Josh Inglis, who have only played two Tests each, compared to the combined 175 of Smith and Labuschagne, replace them.
But Travis Head said he was not concerned.
“They (Smith and Labuschagne) are still around the squad, so it still feels similar at the moment in the build-up,” he told reporters in the West Indies.
“Getting into the game will be a little bit of a new look, but it’s guys who have already played, guys with experience already in a short amount of Test match cricket.”
Not since the Boxing Day Test against India in 2018 –- when Smith was serving a year-long ban for ball-tampering — have Australia fielded a Test team without either him or Labuschagne. Marnus Labuschagne has played 53 consecutive Tests, according to Cricket Australia, while Smith’s streak stood at 51.
Konstas is expected to open at Kensington Oval with Usman Khawaja — a role Labuschagne filled in the recent World Test Championship final — with Inglis coming in anywhere from three to six. Travis Head, who usually bats at number five, said the team were prepared for any scenario.
“As a batter, you’re planning for anything at the moment and then once we get a look at the lay of the land, we’ll come up with a plan,” he said.
“This is a very experienced team We take a couple of guys out, but I find it a very mature and experienced group that if conditions moved in-game, and we needed to win a game of cricket, I think anyone’s (able) to move around.”
Australia Test squad for the series against West Indies
Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster.
Meanwhile, Australia’s next Test assignment is a three-match away tour of the West Indies starting June 25 in Barbados which marks their inaugral series of a new 2025-27 WTC cycle.
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