The West Indies will bat first after winning the toss in the second Test against Australia at the Gabba.
Teams were greeted with a pitch which has changed significantly in the past 48 hours after images of a green monster circulated on social media.
Australian legend Mark Waugh said the pitch was rock hard and resembled a surface “from the 90s”
Australia, meanwhile, has named an unchanged side despite Travis Head and Cameron Green having tested positive to Covid in the lead up.
Head has recovered sufficiently, but Green will be forced to follow any social distancing protocols on the field.
That prompted cricket writer Bharat Sundaresan to raise an interesting hypothetical.
MATCH CENTRE: Australia vs West Indies, live scorecard, second Test
Watch Australia v West Indies on Kayo Sports. Every Test, ODI and T20I Live with no ad breaks during play. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial Today >
If still positive up to game time, Green will have to use a separate changing room away from his teammates.
It’s unlikely Green will have to keep separated from his teammates on the field though.
Sydney Sixers star Moises Henriques tested positive to Covid prior to his side’s grand final loss to the Brisbane Heat on Saturday night and took part in the match, engaging in fistbumps and high fives with teammates, although didn’t speak during the post-match presentation.
Kevin Sinclair, meanwhile, makes his debut for the West Indies.
WEATHER
It’s likely Gabba Test will be affected by wet weather at some stage, with Brisbane set to be hit with between 10-30mm of rain over the weekend.
Luckily, the forecast is far more friendlier than it appeared earlier in the week with intense rainfall from Cyclone Kirrily in the north now expected to affect central Queensland more so than Brisbane.
For Day 1, near perfect conditions are expected. It’s forecast to be 32 degrees and sunny when the first ball is bowled at 3pm AEDT on Thursday.
SQUADS
Australia: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc
West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Alzarri Joseph (vc), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Kirk McKenzie, Alick Athanaze, Kavem Hodge, Justin Greaves, Joshua Da Silva, Akeem Jordan, Gudakesh Motie, Kemar Roach, Kevin Sinclair, Tevin Imlach, Shamar Joseph, Zachary McCaskie
Follow all the Day 1 action in our live blog below. Can’t see it? Click here!
Discussion about this post