Smith’s future, the ‘golf trip’ jibe, and what’s next for Australia’s Test team

Galle: “Another golf trip.” With these words fired out to social media with a tag for the former Test opener and sometime broadcaster Ed Cowan, Travis Head demonstrated that this Australian team is still keeping receipts.

Back in 2021 it was the wrist spinner Adam Zampa who kept something of a log of the criticism directed towards the white ball team, and cheerfully recalled them to teammates in the afterglow of their Twenty20 World Cup victory.

Winners are grinners: the Australian team celebrates in Galle.Credit: AP

This time, the Australian squad in Sri Lanka was questioned about spending a week in Dubai to prepare for two Tests on Galle’s spin sandpit, with Cowan referring to the UAE’s golf courses. Then there were queries about leaving out Sam Konstas to make room for Josh Inglis as Head moved up to open.

Even in the wake of a 2-0 triumph here, Australia’s first for 14 years, it appeared easier for many to argue that Sri Lanka had not been a viable opposition, rather than acknowledging the prowess of the touring side.

That contention, partially the result of Seven beaming this series into more Australian households than any previous Test series in south Asia, did not stand up to much inspection. Sri Lanka have lately played their best Test cricket in years, certainly more consistently than in 2016 when they smashed Australia 3-0, or 2022 when they tied 1-1 in another encounter played entirely in Galle.

It is more accurate, in truth, to weigh up whether this Australian batting lineup is the best ever to have toured south Asia, in terms of knowhow to cope with the conditions and preparation to hone it.

Breakthrough: Marnus Labuschagne and Beau Webster celebrate the dismissal of Ramesh Mendis for a duck.Credit: Getty Images

By the time they got to Galle, the tourists looked well acclimatised. There can be no greater compliment than to say they played as though Australia, not Sri Lanka, were the home side.

Cowan, by the way, is now an advocate for the Dubai camps. This Australian side is doing things differently to their predecessors, and winning has become an ever more reliable byproduct of their “golf trips”.

Still, there are some selection questions to ponder ahead the World Test Championship final against South Africa, in June, an away Test series against the West Indies and next summer’s home Ashes.

Has Marnus done enough?

No he has not, but there is plenty of cricket between now and June. He will have the chance to make white ball runs in the Champions Trophy, while Cameron Green has spoken about coming back to play as a batter only before the end of the Sheffield Shield season. Green has also secured a county deal to play in England before the WTC.

“I think it’s clear that we’ve got some players that have put their hand up so there is a squeeze,” McDonald said. “That’s well documented. Cameron Green is going to play some county cricket.

“He’ll be back in the mix, Josh Inglis was a spare batter in Australia, we feel like he can go across all conditions.

“That’s legitimate that there will be a squeeze and whoever misses out will be very unlucky. It’s no different from the bowling space. Scott Boland is entitled to think that he should start in every Test match. It’s a really good problem to have. May it long continue, to put tough decisions on the selection panel.”

Smith a series by series proposition, says coach

At 35, Smith is playing for Australia on what is more or less a series by series basis. But his recent return to something like his best should encourage Smith and the selectors to believe that arrangement can last for some time yet. Nevertheless, retirement at the end of next year’s SCG Ashes Test, possibly alongside Usman Khawaja, is a distinct possibility.

“He’s coming into another sweet spot in his career. Hopefully that sort of form, he doesn’t want to give up on that too soon,” McDonald said of Smith. “He plays every series and assesses where he’s at at the end of it.

“When you’re at that age and you’ve accomplished so much in your career, you’re entitled to be able to do that. The day that he goes, it’ll be a big hole. When that comes, we’re not sure at this stage. As a coach I’d love to have him for as long as possible.”

What about the spinners?

In Matt Kuhnemann, Nathan Lyon has found his ideal spin ally in south Asia. The pair dovetailed beautifully in Galle, and Kuhnemann showed that his move from Queensland to Tasmania for greater match bowling opportunities has definitely added maturity and consistency to his game.

Lyon will be the number one option in all conditions so long as he stays fit and available, and his ambitions to keep going well into 2027 make life tricky for Todd Murphy, who only played the first Test here before he was dropped.

Did the selectors get Konstas call right?

In terms of winning the series, yes, because Travis Head and Josh Inglis both played important innings to get the Australians on their way in the first Test.

But the wisdom or otherwise of leaving out Konstas will become clear over the longer term - if he flounders in India in 2027, for example, the selectors may wish they had given him more opportunities in Galle. That said, there will likely be an Australia A tour of India later this year, and West Indies pitches are also known to take turn.

Is Webster now the No.1 all-rounder?

The great thing about Webster’s first three Tests is that he has shown himself to be useful in a vast variety of conditions and situations. He has made sensible runs under pressure, caught superbly in the field and taken wickets with both seam and spin. His emergence is valuable for the selectors given Mitchell Marsh’s uncertain future, and also provides the option of playing both Webster and Green in the same side, affording Pat Cummins a dizzying array of bowling to choose from.