Sydney, Jan 29: Travis Head will replace Sam Konstas to partner Usman Khawaja at the top of Australia’s batting order for the first Sri Lanka Tests, starting from Wednesday, skipper Steve Smith confirmed.Meanwhile, Australia have not confirmed their playing and Smith said finalisation of the line-up would be delayed because of the ever-changing nature of the Galle pitch.
Konstas impressed in his first two Tests to help Australia secure a first series win over India in a decade. But Head’s efforts while filling in for injured opener David Warner in the final two Tests of Australia’s most recent subcontinent tour to India in 2023 won him an opener’s spot.
“Travis will go to the top, outside of that I think it will be pretty stable. I don’t see it being a great deal of change from that. The selectors liked what they saw in India when he (Head) had that opportunity. He got after the new ball, scored quickly and put the pressure on them straight away so I guess similar thinking here,” Smith told reporters prior to Australia’s final pre-Test training session.
It’s unclear if Konstas will retain his place as a middle-order batter. Nathan McSweeney and Josh Inglis all appear in contention for the middle-order vacancy created by Head’s promotion.
“He’s going to have a lot of practice if he doesn’t play, which in itself is great for development. I only have to think back to 2013 (in India) where I didn’t play the first two Tests, and just the amount of balls I was hitting in the nets and the skills I was able to develop from facing loads of net bowlers and things like that. So whether he plays or not, I think it’s going to be a wonderful experience for him,” said Smith.