Australia have named seamer Josh Hazlewood in the playing XI for this week’s World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord’s in London, England.
Hazlewood has been selected ahead of fellow seamer Scott 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,” said Australia captain Pat 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.”
Middle-order batsman Marnus Labuschagne was preferred to opening batsman Sam Konstas at the top of the order.
“Marnus has experience, he has done well here at Lord’s and in England in general,” added 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.”
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