He will open the batting alongside Usman Khawaja, which likely means rookie Sam Konstas, who performed well against India in the BGT, may have to be dropped.
The first Test between Sri Lanka and Australia starts tomorrow, and interim Australian captain Steve Smith confirmed in a press conference that Travis Head will open the batting.
Head will open the batting alongside Usman Khawaja, which likely means rookie Sam Konstas, who performed well against India in the BGT, may have to be dropped.
Interim captain Steve Smith mentioned that the final line-up is yet to be decided due to the constantly changing nature of the Galle pitch. However, he confirmed that Head will open the innings for Australia, though it’s uncertain if Konstas will be selected or might be moved to the middle order. The team seems likely to focus on spin bowling given the conditions.
“Trav will go to the top, outside of that I think it will be pretty stable,” Smith told reporters prior to Australia’s final pre-Test training session. I don’t see it being a great deal of change from that. The selectors liked what they saw in India when he (Head) had that opportunity. He got after the new ball, scored quickly and put the pressure on them straight away so I guess similar thinking here,” Smith said.
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Steve Smith emphasized that even if Sam Konstas does not play in the Tests, this experience will definitely benefit his development. He related his own experience from 2013, where the fact that he did not play gave him an opportunity to focus on perfecting his skills in the nets. He felt that Konstas would have a great opportunity to learn from this and be a better player, regardless of whether he makes it into the playing XI.
“He’s going to have a lot of practice if he doesn’t play, which in itself is great for development,” Smith said of Konstas.
“I only have to think back to 2013 (in India) where I didn’t play the first two Tests, and just the amount of balls I was hitting in the nets and the skills I was able to develop from facing loads of net bowlers and things like that. So whether he plays or not, I think it’s going to be a wonderful experience for him. He’s going to learn a lot, ” he added.
Australia’s key selection decision is whether to field three spinners in Sri Lanka, with Matt Kuhnemann and Todd Murphy likely to join Nathan Lyon. Kuhnemann, now recovered from a thumb injury, is expected to play for his left-arm spin.
According to Code Sports, Josh Inglis is set to play, while Sam Konstas will sit out, and the final spot is between Todd Murphy and Scott Boland.
Mitchell Starc will be the sole frontline pacer, with Beau Webster possibly serving as the second seamer.
Predicted Australia XI for the first Test against Sri Lanka: Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (c), Beau Webster, Josh Inglis, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Matt Kuhnemann, Todd Murphy
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