Australia have announced their playing XI for the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy which will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). They have named two changes from the third Test.
Travis Head has been declared fit to play. The swashbuckling left-hander suffered an injury scare on the final day of the third Test at the Gabba. He injured his quad but captain Pat Cummins has confirmed that Head has passed the fitness test ahead of the Boxing Day Test.
Head is currently the leading run-getter in the series. He has racked up 409 runs in three Tests and he has struck a couple of game-changing hundreds already. Hence, Australia would’ve been concerned in the lead-up to the game but the 30-year-old has got the green signal.
The Australia skipper admitted that he won’t have to manage Head a lot unless he feels uncomfortable while fielding. However, Cummins stressed the fact that the in-form left-hander is fully fit.
“Trav’s good to go, he’ll play. He just ticked off some final things today and yesterday. But no worries about injury with Trav. He’ll go into the game fully fit. I don’t think you’ll see too much management of him throughout the game. He just kind of plays as is. Maybe around fielding, if he’s a bit uncomfortable, we will (manage him), but he’s fully fit,” Pat Cummins was quoted saying in the pre-match press conference at the MCG.
Sam Konstas to make his debut
Sam Konstas is set to make his Test debut at the MCG and replace Nathan McSwenny. The 19-year-old has been the talk of the town from the start of the summer when he smashed twin hundreds in the Sheffield Shield against South Australia early in the season. He impressed against India ‘A’ before getting a ton for Prime Minister’s XI against the touring India side in a pink-ball game. He averages 42.23 in first-class cricket after 11 matches.
The New South Wales opener has got the backing of Cummins who wants him to play with freedom. His message to Konstas is to not overthink and take it just like any other game.
“There’s a level of naivety that you just want to go out and play like you do when you’re a kid in the backyard. You just want to take the game on, have fun, and not overthink it. That’s the message to Sam. That’s definitely how I felt as an 18-year-old. I was just really excited, and once the game started, you go into game-mode and it’s just like any other game,” Cummins added.
Apart from Konstas, Scott Boland is the other player who drafts into the XI. The Victoria fast bowler replaces Josh Hazlewood who has been ruled out due to a calf injury. He played the pink-ball Test in Adelaide where he took five wickets across two innings. Boland has an excellent record in Australia, taking 33 wickets at an average of 13.54.
The series stands at 1-1. Australia need to win the series in order to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Hence, the Boxing Day Test is a big game in the context of the series and the race for the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
AUSTRALIA PLAYING XI for Boxing Day Test: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wicket-keeper), Pat Cummins (captain), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland.
