Australia have named the playing XI for this week’s World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord’s in London, England.
Batsman Sam Konstas, spinner Matt Kuhnemann, wicketkeeper-batsman Josh Inglis and seamer Scott Boland are in the 15-man squad, but have been excluded from the XI.
Opening batsman Marnus Labuschagne was preferred to Konstas.
“Marnus has experience, he has done well here at Lord’s and in England in general,” said Australia captain Pat Cummins.
“Opening the batting can be tough, but it can also be sometimes the best time to bat, before the Dukes ball actually starts swinging. There’s an opportunity to score there, so just keeping that ball in tow I think is going to mean something.
“Realistically, Sam is really young, he’s got a long career ahead of him. So hopefully, even by not playing, we can show him their learning opportunities.”
Seamer Josh Hazlewood was selected ahead of Boland.
“There are some guys where you generally say you’ve done nothing wrong, don’t change a thing, and that’s Scott and he’s just really unfortunate to miss out,” added Cummins.
“The message to Scott is there’s a lot of Test matches coming up in the next couple of years, and just because you’re in your mid-30s, doesn’t mean you’re missing this Test and that’s the last Test of your career.
“I think by having a squad of fast bowlers, hopefully we can extend a lot of careers for an extra couple of years.”
Australia World Test Championship final XI
- Usman Khawaja
- Marnus Labuschagne
- Cameron Green
- Steven Smith
- Travis Head
- Beau Webster
- Alex Carey (wicketkeeper)
- Pat Cummins (captain)
- Mitchell Starc
- Nathan Lyon
- Josh Hazlewood