Australia leave West Indies guessing as first Test in Barbados nears

Australia confirmed Marnus Labuschagne’s axing a week out from the first Test against the West Indies. Less than 48 hours from the first ball, it’s still unclear what the batting order is going to look like.

Australia was leaving it late to settle on a batting order for its revamped lineup with the recalled Josh Inglis saying he was uncertain on which position he would bat less than 48 hours from the toss in Barbados.

Sam Konstas meanwhile brushed off running repairs from the team physio with the opening tyro involved in absorbing duel with the Aussie bowlers on the Kensington Oval square.

Selectors were edging towards finalising their XI - including whether to play Matt Kuhnemann as a specialist spinner - after a closer inspection of the Bridgetown wicket on Monday (Caribbean time) following a rain-marred session the previous day.

Inglis and Konstas have been guaranteed positions in the side, with Konstas set to partner Usman Khawaja at the top of the order.

West Australian Inglis, whose two Tests to date came at No. 5 in Sri Lanka earlier this year, said he did not yet know whether he would bat at No. 3, No. 4 or No. 5 in the opening clash of the Frank Worrell Trophy series.

“Not too sure yet. We’ll sort of work through that the next few days and find out,” Inglis said after training.

But the backup gloveman, in the side as a specialist batter given Alex Carey’s hold on the Test wicketkeeping role, said he was not fussed where he batted.

“Not really. No, I’m very happy to be back on the side. So as I said we’ll work through it, and I’ll prep accordingly.”

Josh Inglis is happy to bat anywhere in the Australian order. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

With Steve Smith missing the first Test through the finger injury he suffered in the World Test Championship final and Marnus Labuschagne omitted, the Australian team leadership was weighing up whether to leave Cameron Green at first drop or move him back to his preferred position at No. 4. That would mean Inglis batting at No. 3.

Another option would be to bump Travis Head up one spot and bring Inglis in at No. 5.

Konstas had several conversations with physio Nick Jones during the team’s main training session, with Jones appearing to work on Konstas’ wrist.

But the teenager is not believed to be in any doubt to play, batting for an extended period in the nets as Aussie bowlers sweated it out ahead of what is the Aussies’ first Test in the region since 2015.

Josh Inglis’ entry could see Travis Head shift positions. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Inglis again fielded in drills at third slip in a revamped cordon also featuring Khawaja and Beau Webster.

“I really enjoy my fielding actually. I’ve done a fair bit of it,” Inglis said.

“I sort of only started ‘keeping when I was 14,15, so done a lot of fielding, and it’s something I actually really enjoy. I always like to be in the game. So I’m saying this now. It might all go arse-up during the Test match, but it’s something I enjoy naturally.”

Green bowled in the nets with stand-in bowling coach Adam Griffith as he continues to build his loads following back surgery last year. However the West Australian will only play as a specialist batter in this series.

Kuhnemann is in contention to play his first Test outside Asia on this tour depending on conditions. Inglis said he had not closely inspected the pitch and wasn’t sure what to expect.

“I didn’t really have a look to be honest,” Inglis said.

“I’m not really sure what we’ll get. A lot of the cricket here has been quite slow, attritional cricket and the ball might spin towards the back end of the game. But I guess we’ve just got to see and adapt, communicate on the go.”