Australia’s cricket captain, Pat Cummins, announced the playing XI for the ICC World Test Championship at Lord’s. He talked to the media in London on Tuesday and confirmed that the line-up they’d be fielding was exactly as had been predicted by Australian cricketing legend Ricky Ponting while they were discussing it on The ICC Review last month.
Marnus Labuschagne stepping up to open the batting will be one of the key changes as he partners with Usman Khawaja. Labuschagne, formerly the No.1 ranked Test batter and an incredible hitter, will be integral from the start of the innings.
In terms of bowling, Josh Hazlewood has beaten out Scott Boland for a place and will join Cummins and Mitchell Starc in the pace attack. This trio will try to get a stranglehold on the match as early as possible with their knack.
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All-rounder Cameron Green has great news, as he will be returning to play after undergoing back surgery, and his return is much awaited as he offers semi-useful batting and decent bowling. A name that will be back in the team is Beau Webster’s as well. Webster will add depth to the squad with both medium-paced bowling and spin options, which could be really helpful with how the pitch turns out.
Australia XI: 1. Usman Khawaja, 2. Marnus Labuschagne, 3. Cameron Green, 4. Steve Smith, 5. Travis Head, 6. Beau Webster, 7. Alex Carey (wk), 8. Pat Cummins (c), 9. Mitchell Starc, 10. Nathan Lyon, 11. Josh Hazlewood.
This setup, with the rest of them, cries of an exciting match in the championship, and fans will surely be waiting to see how the team gel on this big stage.