The Cricket Australia (CA) has made a major changes in the Australia playing 11 for the opening test against West Indies where Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith has been missed the spot.
Meanwhile, Sam Konstas and Josh Inglis has been added to the line up for the first test of Australia tour of West Indies 2025.
Sam Konstas will be returning to the test squad after featuring in two tests against India in the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Marnus Labuschagne has been dropped due to his struggle with form.
The 19 year old Konstas will earn his third cap for Australia and his first this calendar year. He made an impact opening for Australia facing Jasprit Bumrah.
Josh Inglis will also make his third appearance in Test cricket, having made 102 debut against Sri Lanka in January.
The Cricket Australia’s Chair of selectors, George Bailey came forward and talked about how big of an asset Labuschagne is to Australia’s Test side.
“Marnus at his best can be a really important member of this team. He understands his output hasn’t been at the level we, or he, expects. We will continue working with him on the areas of his game we feel he needs to rediscover. We continue to value his skill and expect him to work through the challenge positively,” said George Bailey.
Meanwhile Steve Smith has missed out due to compound dislocation in his finger during the WTC Finals. He has avoided surgery and will be wearing a spling on his finger for two weeks.
“Steve needs more time for the wound to heal so we’ll give him another week’s rest and assess his functionality after that,” Bailey said.
The first test of the series will be played between June 25 and 30 at Kensington Oval, Barbados.
