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.
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.
But those streaks are set to end this week after national selectors announced last Friday that Labuschagne had been dropped for the first Test against West Indies in Barbados, while Smith misses the match with a dislocated finger.
Sam Konstas and Josh Inglis have been recalled to earn their third Test caps respectively, while Head will likely be joined in the middle-order by Beau Webster – in what would be his sixth Test appearance – and Cameron Green, who played his first international match in 15 months during the World Test Championship final on his comeback from back surgery.
While Head admitted the Australian line-up would look a little different without Smith and Labuschagne, he said the players replacing them had international experience that they could lean on.
“(Smith and Labuschagne) are still around the squad, so it still feels similar at the moment with the build-up,” Head said at Kensington Oval ahead of Wednesday’s first Test (midnight Thursday AEST).
“Getting into the game will be a little bit of a new look but the guys have already played, so (they have) experience already in a short amount of Test match cricket.
“It might be a bit different with some familiar faces and there’s some guys there that have been a part of the group for a long time now, so shouldn’t feel too different.”
Despite only making his Test debut in January this year, Inglis has been travelling with the squad for the best part of the past four years and Head says it feels like he’d “played a lot more than he has for Australia”.
“He’s been around the group for a long time and once he gets his extended stay in the team, I think he’ll excel,” the left-hander said.
“He’s already showed great application in Sri Lanka in his first Test. He’s had some really good summers in Australia for Western Australia, and he’s been really good when he’s played for Australia in white-ball cricket in some tough roles as well batting in the middle order.
“He’s been waiting for a long time … now to get a crack, it’s exciting for Josh.”
While Konstas is expected to partner veteran opener Usman Khawaja, the addition of Inglis throws up the possibility of more batting order shuffling for Australia, with the West Australian coming in at five and six in his two Tests to date, while Green, the incumbent first-drop, was batting out of position in the WTC final at Lord’s.
But Head said the batting group were prepared for anything and confident of being able to switch roles mid-match if conditions dictated changes, which remain unknown given Australia haven’t played a Test in Barbados in 13 years and the Kensington Oval surface was covered for much of Sunday’s rain-reduced training session.
“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.
“It spun a little bit here and they were pretty slow (during last year’s T20 World Cup).
“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.
“Look at someone like ‘Kez’ (Alex Carey, who scored 156 from No.5 in the second Test in Sri Lanka) with his experience against spin and what he’s been able to do.
“The group’s mature enough that … in whatever conditions (or) scenario, that it can always be open (for changing), whether it be in Australia or subcontinent.”
Qantas Tour of the West Indies
First Test: June 25-29, Bridgetown, Barbados (midnight AEST)
Second Test: July 3-7, St George’s, Grenada (midnight AEST)
Third Test: July 12-16, Kingston, Jamaica (4.30am AEST)
Australia Test squad: 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
West Indies Test squad: Roston Chase (c), Jomel Warrican (vc), Kevlon Anderson, Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell, Keacy Carty, Justin Greaves, Shai Hope, Tevin Imlach, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Johann Layne, Mikyle Louis, Anderson Phillip, Jayden Seales
First T20I: July 20, Kingston, Jamaica (July 21, 11am AEST)
Second T20I: July 22, Kingston, Jamaica (July 23, 11am AEST)
Third T20I: July 25, Basseterre, St Kitts (July 26, 9am AEST)
Fourth T20I: July 26, Basseterre, St Kitts (July 27, 9am AEST)
Fifth T20I: July 28, Basseterre, St Kitts (July 29, 9am AEST)
West Indies T20 squad: TBC
Australia’s T20 squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Ben Dwarshius, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Matt Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Owen, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa
