With the series intriguingly poised at 1-1, Australia’s head coach Andrew McDonald allayed concerns about Travis Head`s availability for the pivotal fourth Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. While batting in the second innings of the Brisbane tie, Head had a small strain to his quadriceps and was not
In preparation for the fourth Test, Travis Head has since practiced at the MCG, and McDonald is confident he will succeed. With an average of 81.80 for his 409 runs in five innings, the aggressive left-hander has repeatedly been a pain in India’s side. KL Rahul has the next-best score in this series, which is a far cry from 235.
“Is there anything he needs to sort out? He has, really,” McDonald remarked. “So you would have seen [in the nets] that. There isn’t any worry right now. Has someone formally reprimanded him? I’m not certain. I’m fairly certain he’ll play, even if I didn’t watch the back end of his training session there.
“I thought Travis Head looked good with the bat in his hand so obviously the skills are in good order. It will just be what risk is associated with that. But no concerns from my end, he’s been able to do his running so I think he’ll be functional come game time,” the coach added.
McDonald also confirmed the inclusion of the young Sam Konstas in Australia’s XI for the MCG game, taking the spot left vacant by Nathan McSweeney who was dropped from the squad. Chief selector George Bailey spoke about throwing something different at India when Konstas was roped into the squad for the last two Tests. McDonald has now echoed some of those thoughts, talking up Konstas’s ability to put the ‘pressure back onto the opposition’.
Prior to the team meeting, we wanted our batting unit to have clarity. We haven’t had many moving parts, so it’s something we don’t generally do, but we figured we’d clear it up so everyone knows he’s on the team,” McDonald remarked
“He (Konstas) has been a lot like the team I’ve observed from the outside: calm, laid-back, and knowledgeable. He has demonstrated a variety of shots, the ability to exert pressure on opponents, and the ability to get his chance. We’re quite happy for him. You might as well finish that one early because Boxing Day is the biggest stage.
Australia recovered well from their loss in Perth, but Usman Khawaja, the opener, was still having trouble scoring runs. McDonald believes the left-hander will’return to the runs’ during the next two Test matches, despite his six-inning total of 8, 4, 13, 9*, 21, and 8.
“I think he’s fine, Usman’s not a concern. Batting in recent times obviously has been quite difficult, with ball dominating bat. But his method is clear, the way he’s been preparing is clear and good players always return to the runs. I’m sure that will be the case over the next couple of Test matches,” McDonald said, while hoping that he will get to see an ‘annoying Marnus’ on Boxing Day. Australia’s No.3 too has not set the world alight this series, despite getting 64 in the victory in Adelaide.
“In Adelaide, we observed that Labuschagne is at his best, displaying intent and being busy at the crease. We’re pretty much on the record about that. We want to see a grumpy Marnus on Boxing Day, and he can be really irritating at the crease.”
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