The final of the World Test Championship is approaching and Australia is all set to face South Africa in this most awaited finale, a team which has reached the final for the very first time.
Australia beat India in the last final of this competition and if anything the champions would look to replicate last final’s performance under Pat Cummins.
However, Australia faces a tougher task, to select a right playing XI for the final and of course with coach Andrew McDonald it does not look like a difficult task.
Australia coach Andrew McDonald stated on SEN radio on Tuesday that Cameron Green’s batting position will be determined by other selection discussions, including whether an all-rounder is required against South Africa at Lord’s.
The selection process will be disrupted as Greenwill not be able to bowl in the WTC final (due to the back injury) but is almost certain to return to the team as a batter only. Josh Inglis, Beau Webster, Sam Konstas, and Marnus Labuschagne will all be in flux depending on how the XI is put together.
McDonald confirmed that Steve Smith would bat at 4 but the position where Green can bat remains unclear.
“He could be three, he could be five, he could be six, he could open,” McDonald said. “I think he’s got the temperament. He’s got the skill set. He’s got the defensive play as well. I think the higher up the order you go, your defensive skills are a priority. He’s got all bases covered.”
Green’s presence and his batting position will have a big ripple effect. Having cycled between Smith, Head, Konstas, and Nathan McSweeney in the previous three Test series Australia has played, Usman Khawaja will require yet another opening partner when Travis Head returns to No. 5 after beginning in Sri Lanka.
“There’s an XI on a board, but it’s got some dashes with multiple names in different positions,” McDonald said. “Do we need to play the allrounder depending on the conditions that present? That’ll then shuffle the batting order. We’re quite flexible in our approach to that.
“We’ve got roughly what we think it might look like. And then clearly, there’ll be some decisions as we get to the pointy end. And we’ve said before that we only make decisions when we need to.”
McDonald was then asked if, in the event that Webster stayed and Green batted at No. 3, it was up to Konstas and Labuschagne to decide who would start the batting.
“If you require the allrounder in the conditions that would then lend itself to a decision around the top order, and then if you don’t require it, then clearly you’ve got other options,” McDonald said. “And that’s not to dismiss the fact that Beau Webster can be a bat only as well. It’ll just be how much we prioritise the bowling element of that.
“We’ve got some players coming out of the IPL. We’ll see them in front of us when we get to England and make some assessments on what their capabilities will be for the Test match. At the moment, everyone’s tracking well, so I think depending on how you look at it they’ll be able to cope with whatever loads are put in front of them.”
However, it is yet to be seen how Australia will manage Josh Inglis as well, given he scored a century on his Test debut and have been performing in all-format of the game even at the difficult conditions even.
Another tough situation would be the Marnus Labuschagne dilemma. He has not performed up to the mark at number 3 for his side. Since 2019, he has scored at an average of 46.76 in 57 Test matches, including 11 Test hundreds.
However, he averages just 28.33 throughout this WTC cycle and has not scored in 29 Test innings.
McDonald was asked if Marnus could open in the final of the WTC? The answer was unsure though.
“You watch the dismissals and it’s isolated incidents that you don’t know what he’s doing in the background, how it looks in the nets, how he’s moving,” McDonald said. “That’ll be the key part of all of it is to see where they’re in front of us and what those last seven days of prep look like to make good decisions for us.”
The team must settle the opening pair in the test format. Like, In first-class cricket, Labuschagne has opened 15 times, averaging 34.84 and recording two hundreds, including one for Glamorgan in May 2024 and that record is the same as Konstas’.
Additionally, the decision between Josh Hazlewood and Scott Boland to be the third seamer is the other significant selection issue prior to the WTC final.
It is eminent to mention the final of the WTC will be played on 11th June at Lords.
