Inglis gets nod as Konstas is dropped and Head rises up the order

Galle: Sam Konstas is set to be replaced by spin specialist Josh Inglis in Australia’s Test team against Sri Lanka, with Travis Head to open alongside Usman Khawaja.

Inglis has been a part of the white ball team for several years, and was included in the Test squad against India. He is considered an accomplished attacking player against slow bowling.

Josh Inglis batting for Western Australia against Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield.Credit: Getty Images

The decision to leave out Konstas runs contrary to the views of numerous observers, including Ricky Ponting and even Khawaja, who reckoned it was worth persisting with the 19-year-old at the top of the order for this series after his whirlwind first two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney.

Konstas had a one-on-one chat with head coach Andrew McDonald at the team hotel in Galle before training on match eve, and then spent the bulk of the team’s final session fielding. Inglis, by contrast, sprinted to the nets to get a hit in before afternoon showers brought an early end to preparation.

“Trav will go to the top,” acting captain Steve Smith said earlier. “He’ll be opening with Usman. Selectors liked what they saw in India when he had that opportunity, he got after the new ball, scored quickly and put the pressure on them straight away, so similar thinking here.

“He did really nicely in India against the new ball. He put spinners under pressure immediately and we know how well he hits the seam as well if they come with that. It’s going to be good fun watching him.”

Travis Head will open the batting for the first Test in Sri Lanka.Credit: AP

Speaking before training, Smith broached the possibility of Konstas being sidelined.

“He’s going to have a lot of practice over here if he doesn’t play, which in itself is great for development,” Smith said of Konstas.

“I only have to think back to 2013, I think, where I didn’t play the first few Tests [in India] 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. So whether he plays or not it’ll be a wonderful experience for him.”

While Konstas has never played international cricket in this part of the world, Inglis has a wealth of white-ball games behind him, notably in the 2023 World Cup.

Sam Konstas had a whirlwind debut in Melbourne.Credit: AP

“He provides really good skills against spin, he scores all around the ground, he’s got all the shots, a good defence,” Smith said. “He’s had experience in these conditions albeit in white-ball cricket but there is some similarity there, the way wickets behaved. So that holds him in good stead.”

In recent times, Australia have liked to name their Test XI as far in advance as possible, but Smith said uncertainty around the Galle surface and the weather made this a different scenario.

“We’d love to name a team as early as possible but this part of the world things can change really quickly with the wicket,” he said.

“The grass got cut off yesterday afternoon after we left the ground, so we’re unsure as to what we’re going to get when we train today, so we’ll have a look and from there the guys know that’s the way it’s got to be this game, unfortunately.

Steve Smith examines the pitch in Galle.Credit: Getty Images

“Just playing what’s in front of us, it’s quite different to back home on the surfaces we’ve been playing on there where it’s very pace dominant. We’d imagine this is going to be quite spin dominant. Things change. You’ve got to play the different tempos of the game that are in front of you at that stage. I think we’ve got all the options available to us there.”

Sri Lanka’s captain Dhananjaya de Silva said he felt the Galle pitch had more moisture in it than usual after recent rainfall, and would be unlikely to spin sharply from ball one.

“It’s looking a bit different to what we usually get,” he said. “It’s a good wicket. After day three I think it will start spinning.”

All-rounder Beau Webster is capable of sharing the new ball with Mitchell Starc if a second seamer is needed, which would enable Australia to play three spinners.

Alternatively, Scott Boland could play alongside Starc, with Webster also able to bowl off-spin.

Left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann will also come into the team after making a rapid recovery from surgery on his badly dislocated right thumb.

“Even before surgery he was saying I’m good, I’m ready to play,” Smith said. “For him to be able to field and do the things he’s done over the last couple of days, we’re kind of a bit gobsmacked. Either he’s a tremendous actor or he’s got great pain tolerance. He’s ticked all the boxes.”

Smith, who needs one run to join the 10,000 club after falling just short of the milestone in Sydney against India, admitted he had some days of uncertainty about his fitness due to an elbow problem that turned out to be less serious than feared. Even so, he will be restricted in his throwing.

“Much better than expected,” Smith said. “I had a little bit of a scare back home, similar sort of feeling to what I had in 2019 when I did my ligaments. Fortunately it was all mainly muscle, it settled down pretty quickly. I’m actually batting without tape.

“I’m not throwing yet, fortunately, this part of the world I’ll be parked in the slips for the entire time. If I have to chase one to the boundary, hopefully one of my mates comes with me.”

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