Three Australians could potentially make their Test debut over the coming fortnight as the tourists grapple with how to balance their starting XI for the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy campaign against Sri Lanka.
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The Australian Test squad touched down in Dubai this week to ramp up preparation for the two-match series, which gets underway next Thursday in Galle. Steve Smith will lead the side in the absence of Pat Cummins, who is expecting the birth of his second child as he battles ankle soreness, while bowler Josh Hazlewood is also unavailable due to a calf injury.
The Warne-Muralitharan Trophy has been in Australia’s possession since 2019, but Sri Lanka has won four of their five most recent home Tests against the powerhouse nation, including a 3-0 whitewash in 2016.
Australia has already booked its place in this year’s World Test Championship final at Lord’s, but the visitors will be eager to break a 14-year drought and secure their first Test series triumph in Sri Lanka since 2011.
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OPENERS
During the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Australia’s previous Test tour of the subcontinent, Travis Head was thrown up the order as a makeshift opener following an elbow injury to David Warner, with the substitute hitting 235 runs at 47 in a low-scoring series.
The South Australian, a successful opener in white-ball formats, could partner Usman Khawaja at the top of the order against Sri Lanka this week at the expense of teenage phenom Sam Konstas, who has less experience on the subcontinent’s turning wickets.
“For me, it’s wherever we line up best as a team … I’m happy where I’m at (in the middle order),” Head told Fox Cricket when asked about the potential of opening in Sri Lanka.
“When Davey went down (in 2023), it felt like I was the next best option, and it seemed to have worked.
“Obviously being a bit more aggressive at the top, it felt like I got myself into the game, which was nice in those conditions, facing fast bowling first.
“It depends where the team’s situated, who’s doing well; we’ve got some very good opening batters at the moment.”
Speaking to reporters earlier this month, national selector George Bailey confirmed Head was “an option” to open the batting in Sri Lanka due to his aggressive approach against pace. However, Bailey didn’t rule out the possibility of Konstas facing the new ball in Galle after the teenager demonstrated his attacking potential with an unforgettable Boxing Day blitz at the MCG last month.
The 19-year-old, capable of shifting gears and heaping pressure back on the bowlers, could be the like-for-like Warner replacement that Australia has been searching for.
Test batting average as opener
55.75 – Travis Head
28.25 – Sam Konstas
“He’s a quick learner, absorbs a lot of information,” Bailey said of Konstas.
“(We’re) expecting him to get a lot out of it. I know from his spin play in Australia, and the opportunities he’s (had) in different parts of the world, we think he’s got a game that’s well suited, and a technique that can stand up.
“But that’s one of the exciting things about this tour – we will learn a bit more about his game in different conditions to what he’s just faced in Australia.”
Elsewhere, Khawaja will be hoping to rediscover his mojo after an underwhelming home summer against India, where he contributed 184 runs at 20.44 with one fifty in 10 knocks. The Queenslander, who celebrated his 38th birthday last month, has indicated he wants to continue playing until next summer’s Ashes campaign, and runs against the Sri Lankans would aid his cause.
MIDDLE ORDER
Following the Border-Gavaskar Trophy campaign, Australia’s middle order looks fairly settled, with Marnus Labuschagne at first-drop followed by Smith, Head and all-rounder Beau Webster.
However, if Head opens the batting in Sri Lanka, it will create a vacancy in the middle order that reserve batter Nathan McSweeney or uncapped wicketkeeper Josh Inglis could occupy.
McSweeney, who has spent most of his first-class career in the middle order, made his Test debut as a makeshift opener during the recent series against India, but was dropped after compiling 72 runs at 14.40 across three matches.
The South Australian looked completely out of his depth while facing Indian weapon Jasprit Bumrah, but Bailey confirmed he was still considered a long-term Test prospect. During this season’s Sheffield Shield, McSweeney has notched 291 runs at 97.00 including a match-saving century against NSW in October.
“At times when someone is left out of a team or squad, there’s a view that they fall out of favour, or down the pecking order,” Bailey said.
“But that wasn’t the case with Nathan.”
Although Inglis is yet to make his Test debut, the gloveman has clobbered 363 runs at 72.60 in this season’s Sheffield Shield and would be more than capable of serving as a specialist batter if called upon, just as he’s done in Australia’s white-ball teams. The West Australian has also been touted as an excellent player of spin.
Inglis, who has already represented Australia in 26 ODIs and 29 T20Is, carried drinks throughout the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy as the squad’s reserve batter before suffering a calf injury during the Boxing Day Test.
Webster gives Australia flexibility with its team balance — he can bowl seam or off-spin pending the conditions and match situation — while wicketkeeper Alex Carey has expressed a willingness to bat at No. 6 if required.
Meanwhile, Head will be desperate for redemption after his torrid tour of Sri Lanka in 2022, where he averaged 7.66 across two matches.
Test batting average in Sri Lanka
49.75 — Steve Smith
49.66 — Marnus Labuschagne
44.50 — Alex Carey
28.00 — Usman Khawaja
7.66 — Travis Head
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SPINNERS
Matthew Kuhnemann’s dislocated finger has thrown a spanner in the works as national selectors ponder the makeup of Australia’s bowling attack for the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy.
The left-arm spinner recently underwent surgery on his right thumb after copping a nasty blow during last week’s Big Bash League match against the Hobart Hurricanes at the Gabba. He didn’t join the Test squad in Dubai this week but is expected to travel to Sri Lanka in the coming days having proven his fitness during a training session in Brisbane on Thursday.
“I’m feeling really good, really grateful with how it progressed in the last week,” Kuhnemann told reporters.
“It’s healed really well, and the surgery went excellent. Very fortunate and lucky so far that I’m in a position to be able to bowl and bat and catch a few balls. Everything’s gone to plan so far. There’s not much pain at all any more.”
Because he spins the ball away from right-handed batters, Kuhnemann looms as the ideal accomplice for veteran tweaker Nathan Lyon — together, the duo could threaten the outside edge of every Sri Lankan batter.
However, Victorian spinner Todd Murphy has been considered Lyon’s eventual successor since he burst onto the scene in 2023, taking 21 wickets at 25.42 across his six Tests against India and England.
Conditions pending, Australia may be tempted to slot all three spinners into the starting XI for the series opener, with Mitchell Starc serving as the lone quick. The strategy worked against India in 2023 when Australia clinched a nine-wicket victory in Indore with Lyon claiming 11 wickets across the match.
Over the last five years, spinners have taken 324 wickets at 30.90 at Galle International Stadium compared to 86 scalps at 38.02 for pace bowlers.
Test bowling average in Asia
25.21 – Todd Murphy
30.81 – Nathan Lyon
31.11 – Matt Kuhnemann
If Kuhnemann doesn’t recover before the series opener, it would open the door for young all-rounder Cooper Connolly to make his Test debut in Sri Lanka.
The 21-year-old, who enjoyed a prolific campaign with the Perth Scorchers in the BBL, only made his Sheffield Shield debut 10 months ago, while he doesn’t have a first-class wicket to his name.
However, Bailey is adamant Connolly boasts the skills required to succeed in subcontinent conditions. The left-arm spinner has taken 12 wickets at 22.41 in the Big Bash, while in August 2023 he visited the MRF Academy in Chennai, exposing himself to the subcontinent’s unique conditions.
In a horses-for-course selection, Connolly could bolster the Australian middle order while providing an additional spin option for Smith to call upon.
“There’s lots to like,” Bailey said of Connolly.
“Technically, we like it. Temperament, we like. Character, we like and clearly skill set there’s a lot to like there as well.
“He’s someone that we’ve had our eye on for a period of time … there’s lots of work to go and this will be a really big challenge for him.”
QUICKS
Starc boasts a phenomenal record in Sri Lanka, taking 29 wickets at 17.48 across five matches despite the spin-friendly conditions.
Barring injury, the left-arm quick is a certainty to play the series opener in Galle, while Scott Boland is the leading candidate to share the new ball. The Victorian seamer is fresh off a stunning performance during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, taking 21 wickets at 13.19 across three matches.
However, the 35-year-old’s Test record outside Australia leaves a lot to be desired, with seven wickets at 52.85 in five games — he produced 17 wicketless overs in a heavy loss during the 2023 tour of India, which remains his only Test appearance in Asia.
Although it would cause riots on the streets of Melbourne, national selectors might be tempted to hand Sean Abbott a Test debut due to the New South Welshman’s capacity for reverse swing, a valuable weapon in Sri Lanka.
This summer, Abbott has taken 13 Sheffield Shield wickets at 19.84, although he missed selection for the upcoming Champions Trophy campaign in Pakistan.
Australia’s pace bowlers will also receive support from Webster, who has taken 39 Sheffield Shield wickets since the start of last summer.
AUSTRALIA TEST SQUAD
Steve Smith (NSW/Sutherland Cricket Club) (c)
Sean Abbott (NSW/Parramatta District Cricket Club)
Scott Boland (VIC/Frankston Peninsula Cricket Club)
Alex Carey (SA/Glenelg Cricket Club)
Cooper Connolly (WA/Scarborough Cricket Club)
Travis Head (SA/Tea Tree Gully Cricket Club) (vc)
Josh Inglis (WA/Joondalup Cricket Club)
Usman Khawaja (QLD/Valley District Cricket Club)
Sam Konstas (NSW/Sutherland District Cricket Club)
Matt Kuhnemann (TAS/Clarence Cricket Club)
Marnus Labuschagne (QLD/Redlands Cricket Club)
Nathan Lyon (NSW/Northern District Cricket Club)
Nathan McSweeney (SA/Glenelg Cricket Club)
Todd Murphy (VIC/St Kilda Cricket Club)
Mitchell Starc (NSW/Manly Warringah Cricket Club)
Beau Webster (TAS/Kingborough Cricket Club)
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