Aussies prepared for second Test change-up with ‘baking’ pitch as Head flags Konstas opener plan

Australia expects a more traditional Galle pitch for the second and final Test in Sri Lanka, after taking full advantage of conditions to dominate the series opener.

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And it’s likely to be Travis Head’s last hitout for a while at the top of the order, with the new Allan Border Medallist expecting Sam Konstas to reclaim his place for the World Test Championship final at Lord’s against South Africa.

Konstas was brought to Sri Lanka after his heroics to help the Aussies clinch the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Melbourne and Sydney, but did not feature in the opening Test won, which Australia won by an innings and 242 runs.

Instead Head rose up from the middle order and debutant Josh Inglis scored a century on debut, with Konstas’ treatment sparking much debate.

But the 19-year-old was battling illness for much of the first Test and was involved in a centre wicket net session on Tuesday.

He is still viewed as unlikely to play in the second Test with an unchanged line-up tipped, however Code Sports noted Marnus Labuschagne faced back-up pacers Scott Boland and Sean Abbott on Tuesday rather than the spinners in the nets like the other incumbent batters, with Cooper Connolly taking a larger role in the session.

“Most likely I’ll go back into the middle order (for the World Test Championship) and Sam would open, but I’m glad I’m not a selector,” Head told reporters on Tuesday in Galle.

“Josh has had an amazing start, guys are playing well, Greeny’s (Cameron Green) going to be fit. So it’s going to be hard to fit in and I think that’s what we want.

“We want an Australian cricket team that’s tough to get in, where everyone’s pushing for spots. That’s where the pressure comes, trying to hold your spot every Test knowing there’s people behind you.

“So we’re in a strong position. It’s better having seven or eight batters talked about than three or four.”

He added: “It was not by design to go out and score as quickly as I did.

“It was the same mindset: if they present an opportunity to score, I want to score.”

Asked whether he is likely to open in Test matches away from the subcontinent, when conditions would favour pace, Head explained: “That’s probably unlikely with where we’ve gone.

“I’ve had conversations with Ron (coach Andrew McDonald), Pat (Cummins), they know where I stand that I’ll do anything they require. But I’m in the position they want me to be in.

“As long as I keep being consistent in that position and trying to do as well as I can, that’s great, but it’s probably unlikely that I would (open) in Australia with where we’ve been in the last two years. It feels like the middle order is the spot in Australia for me.”

Head took full advantage of a less dry Galle pitch in the series opener, leading the Aussies into a dominant position before it tried out and was more favourable for spinners from day three.

With much warmer conditions the pitch has been “baking” and it’s expected to be a more traditional spin-friendly surface when play begins on Thursday.

“You could play on it right now and you’d be happy. You’ve got to take it for face value, look at it again tomorrow and then the next morning,” Head said.

“We’ve still got two days so I guess anything could play out in these conditions. The sun’s out now, so it’s baking at the moment.

“It looks like it will spin earlier but it looks at the moment like the first couple of days will be good for batting and then it will spin. Like we’ve said previously in the last couple of weeks, it’s just being able to adapt (to) that moment, that shift.

“What we’ve seen in the first Test was probably that day three moment where it shifted to heavy spin and we were able to capture the moments. It’s whether we can weigh up when that shift comes and be able to be ready and adapt to that. It looks like it’ll take spin early.”