Sam Konstas will become the 468th Australian men’s Test player on Boxing Day but star batter Travis Head remains under a fitness cloud ahead of the crunch fourth NRMA Insurance Test against India.
Coach Andrew McDonald confirmed on Christmas Eve that Konstas would make his Test debut, with the 19-year-old to become the youngest to pull on the Baggy Green since an 18-year-old Pat Cummins made his debut in 2011.
McDonald noted it was a break from Australia’s Test protocols which usually see skipper Cummins confirm the playing XI on match eve or at the coin toss.
But selector-on-duty Tony Dodemaide informed Konstas at training at the MCG this morning he will be receiving his cap in front of a packed house on Thursday, to both quell speculation and allow the batting group to formulate their plans.
“We wanted clarity for our batting unit before the team meeting,” McDonald told reporters today.
“It’s something we don’t usually do because haven’t had too many moving parts, but we thought we’d get that out of the way so everyone knows that he’s in the team.
“He (Konstas) has been very similar to what I’ve seen on the outside within (the team) – composed, relaxed, knows his game.
“And what he’s shown is an array of shots, the ability to put pressure back on to opponents and he gets his opportunity.
“We’re really excited for him.
“Boxing Day is the biggest stage, you may as well get that one out of the way early.”
However, Head is not a certain starter after McDonald declared on Tuesday the star batter had picked up “a small strain to the quad” (quadriceps muscle) while batting in Australia’s abbreviated second innings on the last day of the third Test at the Gabba.
While the coach remains “really confident” Head will be passed fit, the left-hander still needed clearance from medical staff to ensure he was not restricted in movement while batting or in the field.
Head, leading runs scorer for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Series and player of the match in the past two Tests, faced only throw-downs from assistant coach Brad Hodge rather than his fast-bowling teammates in the MCG nets today.
“I thought he looked good with the bat in his hands so obviously the skills are in good order,” McDonald said.
“It will just be what risk is associated with that.
“But no concerns from my end, he’s been able to do his running so I think he’ll be functional come game time.”
McDonald declined to speculate on who might fill the place in the Australia middle-order should Head fail to prove his fitness, with uncapped duo Josh Inglis and Beau Webster the auxiliary batters in the squad.
But Scott Boland was all-but confirmed to replace Josh Hazlewood (calf strain) despite McDonald tipping the scorching temperature forecast for day one to make the normally lively MCG pitch more batter-friendly than usual.
McDonald conceded the extreme weather – with a maximum of 40C flagged for Thursday – will likely provide an additional consideration at the coin toss at a venue where four of the past five Tests have seen teams sent into bat.
The fifth occasion was the most recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy match in 2020 where Australia skipper Tim Paine opted to bat and his team was skittled for 195 on the opening day before being defeated by eight wickets.
“Traditionally it’s been bowl first but with the heat around, it looks similar but probably a little bit better than what it has in previous years so decisions for the captains to make at the toss,” McDonald said while also confirming MCG crowd favourite Boland’s recall.
“I think this wicket might offer the batters a little bit more in terms of the surface as the game draws on.
“If we didn’t pick Scotty here – and I know I’m not allowed to declare the team because that’s Pat’s job tomorrow – but I don’t think I’m coming to the ground Boxing Day if Scotty’s not in the eleven.
“We’ve got great depth in our bowling, and (allrounder) Mitch Marsh is fully fit and able to bowl.
“But he (Boland) is ready to go and I think he’ll play a role in this Test match with the ball more so than the previous ones.”
McDonald also threw his support behind top-order pair Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne who, like deposed opener Nathan McSweeney, have born the brunt of India pace ace Jasprit Bumrah’s new-ball assault.
The Australia coach said Khawaja’s preparation suggested a sizeable score was not far away, even though the left-hander has reached 20 just once in his past eight Test innings.
“I think he’s fine, Usman’s not a concern,” McDonald said today. “Batting in recent times obviously has been quite difficult with ball dominating bat.
“But his method is clear, the way he’s been preparing is clear and good players always return to the runs.
“I’m sure that will be the case over the next couple of Test matches.”
And McDonald reiterated that Labuschagne – whose 64 in the second Test at Adelaide was pivotal in Australia’s 10-wicket win but represented his only score above 12 for the series – was at his best when he was being proactive in the middle.
“We’re pretty much on the record about when he (Labuschagne) is at his best, he’s showing intent, he’s busy at the crease and we saw that in Adelaide,” McDonald said today.
“He can be quite annoying at the crease and we want to see an annoying Marnus on Boxing Day.”
NRMA Insurance Men’s Test Series v India
First Test: India won by 295 runs
Second Test: Australia won by 10 wickets
Third Test: Match drawn
Fourth Test: December 26-30: MCG, Melbourne, 10.30am AEDT
Fifth Test: January 3-7: SCG, Sydney, 10.30am AEDT
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Travis Head (vc), Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar. Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Dayal
