‘Screwed themselves’: Aussie crisis laid bare as major Test shake-up looms
Australian cricket fans face a brutal few years ahead as the World Test Championship failure paints a damning picture for Australia’s Test future.
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As Australia licks its wounds from an embarrassing five-wicket World Test Championship final defeat at the hands of South Africa, changes are already being discussed both internally and externally.
But there isn’t long for Australian selectors to get their ducks in a row, with the next two-year Test cricket cycle beginning later this month with a three-Test series against the West Indies.
There are many things for selectors to mull over, such as who should open the batting, and if it is worth bringing in a second specialist tweaker such as Matt Kuhnemann, with subcontinental conditions usually favouring the tweakers.
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But what does not appear to have changed is the selectors’ stubbornness in selecting the best six Australian batsmen irrespective of where they usually bat, their age or whether or not they are in form.
However, sooner rather than later they will need to look beyond just a single Test series as the reality is they have somewhat screwed themselves by sticking solid with the same group of veterans.
The reality is the Australian squad is ageing out and the next generation has been badly devoid of opportunities.
The two youngsters blooded last summer, Nathan McSweeney and Sam Konstas were both dropped despite the former being played in an unfamiliar role as opener and the latter being overlooked for non-openers Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne.
That was despite the fact he rattled the world’s best bowler in the world Jasprit Bumrah and clearly has immense raw untapped ability. Make that make sense.
Aussie fans have been blessed with a strong generation of cricketers, which has resulted in the side taking out major tournament after major tournament until now.
The WTC final defeat will be a tough pill to swallow but for Aussie fans, it could be about to get much worse, with years of selection decisions set to come back to bite in the long run.
In the World Test Championship, Cam Green was the only Aussie under the age of 30 in the team.
And when injuries have presented selectors with the chance to blood youth, instead they routinely turn to the likes of Scott Boland and Michael Neser and others deep into their 30s.
It has seen many other fast bowlers come and go as nothing more than Sheffield Shield journeymen and it is even more grim for the batsman.
That is why the likes of Labuschagne, Usman Khawaja and before them David Warner were almost undroppable.
Cameron Bancroft, Marcus Harris and Matt Renshaw have all come and gone, dropped at the first sign of struggle, while others hold onto their spots regardless of their output.
The reality is that come the next WTC final, it would be fair to assume half of the Australian side that lined up this week will be retired, so major changes need to happen sooner rather than later.
Who should Australia select for the West Indies series?
Let’s start with the openers. It’s time to go Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja.
Khawaja returned scores of 0 and 6 in the WTC final and has had a very grim few years with the bat, barring one series against Sri Lanka.
At 38 years of age, his time has come and gone and luckily for Australia, there is a ready-made replacement in Konstas.
The teenager has a lot of work to do granted but there is no shortage of raw talent and competitiveness ready to be moulded into a potentially generational batsman.
While fellow WTC final opener Labuschagne is badly out of touch and a stint back in Sheffield Shield could do him the world of good.
He is averaging just 25.63 in Tests during the 2024/25 season and looked devoid of all confidence against South Africa.
In his place, I would go with Josh Inglis.
His rapid-fire century on Test debut in Sri Lanka earlier this year reinforced his credentials as a red ball player and is someone who Australia needs to find a spot for. So why not at opener?
Steve Smith is a No. 3 whether he likes it or not. That move would also allow for Cam Green to slot in at his preferred four.
However, it is worth noting Smith dislocated his finger in the loss to the Proteas.
If he isn’t fit I could advocate for Nathan McSweeney to come in.
At 26 years old, the batsman’s best years are ahead of him and after two strong Sheffield Shield seasons he deserves a proper crack in the Test fold, where he isn’t thrown to the wolves facing the new ball.
From there I would keep it fairly similar to the side who were beaten by South Africa with Travis Head, Beau Webster and Alex Carey rounding out the middle order.
From there, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood are all nearly undroppable as is Nathan Lyon.
But I could entertain a rotation of one pace bowler getting a rest so tweaker Matt Kuhnemann could make up a two-pronged spin attack with Lyon.
Pat Cummins suggests changes are on the cards
With the 2027 WTC cycle kicking off when Australia travel to the West Indies, Australian skipper Cummins hinted that changes could be on the cards.
“We’ve got a couple of weeks before the first Test in the Windies, so we’ll sit down and have a bit of a think after we digest this game,” he said.
“But for me, I think a new WTC cycle in some ways does feel like a bit of a reset.
“It’s probably more for the selectors and for me to sit down and map it ahead.”
Cummins also suggested the likes of Konstas and Inglis could find themselves in the team come the first Test against the Windies.
“Coming to this match, you’ve got guys like Sam Konstas and Scotty Boland and Josh Inglis, all those guys were right on the fringes,” he said.
“So I think again, after this Test match, everyone gets thrown back into the conversation.”
Australia’s three-Test series against West Indies in Barbados kicks off on June 25.
Predicted Australian XI to face the West Indies
1. Sam Konstas
2. Josh Inglis
3. Steve Smith (or Nathan McSweeney)
4. Cam Green
5. Travis Head
6. Beau Webster
7. Alex Carey
8. Pat Cummins
9. Mitchell Starc
10. Nathan Lyon
11. Josh Hazlewood
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