Tim Paine: Why Sam Konstas doesn’t fit in Australia’s Sri Lanka tour plans
The home series may be over, but selection head aches remain ahead of the Sri Lanka tour and former Test captain TIM PAINE says Sam Konstas could be left behind. Plus the SCG is put on notice.
Cricket
Don't miss out on the headlines from Cricket. Followed categories will be added to My News.
There’s no greater fan of Sam Konstas than me but I’m not sure where he fits into Australia’s side for the first Test in Sri Lanka.
I’m a big believer in Travis Head opening the batting in Asian conditions, just as he did successfully in India two years ago.
I also still feel Usman Khawaja is better placed than Konstas to open on slow, low-turning wickets, the type we are likely to be confronted with in Galle.
More to the point, I wouldn’t be surprised if the same pitch was used for both Tests given they are at the same venue and the second starts just four days after the first.
A similar situation played out in Pakistan last year when the hosts employed the same wicket – one that had been worn by a full Test – for the second of two Tests in Multan against England.
Predictably, it was a spinner’s paradise as Noman Ali and Sajid Khan wreaked havoc.
Konstas has ascended so quickly that such conditions will be unfamiliar to him, albeit Australia has a training camp in the UAE to acclimatise for this tour.
I would still pick him, at the very least to expose him to these sorts of decks, even if only in the nets.
It is such a short series that there will be plenty of time for him to head back to Australia and play in the Sheffield Shield.
While Marnus Labuschagne has his critics, he also made a Test hundred in Sri Lanka at his last start. Like the rest of the Aussie top order, he will be relieved to escape the clutches of Jasprit Bumrah.
Labuschagne didn’t dominate but in a series in which two Tests finished on day three because of the way ball was tormenting bat, he did OK overall.
Steve Smith, who will likely be back as captain, is a lock, while Peter Handscomb makes perfect sense to me at No.5 as a subcontinent specialist.
I appreciate the argument that given Australia has already qualified for the World Test Championship final, maybe it is worthwhile to prefer a youngster to a veteran such as Handscomb.
I don’t subscribe to it. Every Test is important and the best XI should be picked.
Australia has made a point of emphasising how the side holds every available bilateral Test trophy, so the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy should not be jeopardised at any cost.
On that basis, I would pick Glenn Maxwell ahead of rising young gun Cooper Connolly.
I don’t care that Maxwell has barely played any first-class cricket.
His array of shots means he is almost a left-hander and right-hander tied into one, not to mention a very effective extra spin option and brilliant fielder, as we recently saw at the Gabba in the Big Bash League.
I would keep Beau Webster in the XI on the back of his stunning Sydney debut, along with Alex Carey as wicketkeeper.
With Maxwell and Webster, I think only three specialist bowlers are needed.
Mitchell Starc’s ball speed and reverse swing make him undroppable in those conditions given Pat Cummins will be missing.
Matt Kuhnemann should play alongside Nathan Lyon, while Webster is a capable second seam option.
Scott Boland is clearly unlucky but what a luxury to leave a player like him on the bench.
If conditions were slightly more seam friendly, he would probably play ahead of Kuhnemann or Maxwell.
Konstas, Todd Murphy, Josh Inglis (if fit) and one of Josh Hazlewood (also fitness pending) or Jhye Richardson would be my other squad members.
Cameron Green’s possible mid-year return will make things more interesting and at this stage I would expect him to push out Webster.
I still have Hazlewood ahead of Boland in the pecking order for the WTC final but there are so many moving parts.
On that note, while Boland was magnificent in Sydney, that Test pitch was embarrassing.
It meant batting relied more on luck than skill and although the ICC gave it a satisfactory rating, I would have given it the lowest possible rating and effectively placed the SCG on notice: dish up something like that again and you will be suspended from hosting international cricket.
It may seem extreme but this isn’t a new phenomenon in Sydney.
The Sheffield Shield pitch dished up when Tasmania played at the SCG last season was disgraceful.
It is time to shape up or face the consequences.
Can ‘unconventional’ Bashir break the spinners’ curse?
Shoaib Bashir went from Sydney Shires team Lindfield to playing 15 Tests for England and taking more Test wickets than any other spinner in the world. ROBERT CRADDOCK uncovers how he came from nowhere to be thrust onto the world stage.
Hurricanes fire as Heat’s Test spinner suffers injury
The Hurricanes retain top spot despite a Marnus Labuschagne half-century in his return for the Heat in a BBL match delayed by an electrical fire. And a member of the Test squad for Sri Lanka could miss the tour with a fresh injury.