The Australian cricket team is shaking things up for the first Test against the West Indies next week. Marnus Labuschagne is out of the team and that’s a surprise to many. Steve Smith is also out due to an injury he picked up recently. Chief selector George Bailey explained the changes, bringing in 19-year-old Sam Konstas and Josh Inglis to replace them.
Labuschagne has had a tough time on the field lately. He hasn’t hit a Test century since 2023 and during the World Test Championship final he was given the chance to open the batting with Usman Khawaja. Unfortunately he didn’t make the most of it, scoring 17 and 22 in two innings. Bailey said when Labuschagne is playing his best he brings a lot to the team. He acknowledged both Labuschagne and the team have higher expectations for him. We want to support him and help him work through this, Bailey said, we believe in him.
As for Sam Konstas, he made an impression during his debut series at home against India with his aggressive batting but the selectors went with Travis Head for the Sri Lanka tour after that and Konstas was left out for a bit.
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Now onto Steve Smith, his injury was no small thing. He dislocated his little finger while trying to catch a ball from South African captain Temba Bavuma. Bailey said Smith will need a bit more time to heal properly before he can play again. Despite that there’s optimism around Inglis especially after he scored 102 runs in two Tests against Sri Lanka with one of those being a century.
We’ll give Steve an extra week to recover and see how he moves after that, Bailey said. He’s also excited to give both Josh and Sam the chance to step up and continue their Test journey. Bailey said Josh was really good in his only Test in Sri Lanka and showed he can put pressure on the opposition.
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The final team will be announced closer to match day which is June 25. Fans are looking forward to seeing how this new combination will go.
