With all the talk happening about who will be the Australian openers in this year’s Ashes, the Australian team management would be looking to answer the questions regarding the form of openers like Sam Konstas. With Konstas having scored four, 14, zero and 53 for NSW in the two matches in the Sheffield Shield in recent days, the 20-year-old opener does not have the recent number to put weight behind his selection and former Australian captain Greg Chappell believes Australia should go with Matt Renshaw to partner for the opening wicket with Usman Khawaja for the opening Test of the Ashes against Australia starting at Perth on November 21 and it’s a risk playing Konstas in the opening Test against England.
“It seems Khawaja is a lock for the first Test, so finding someone synergistic to bat with Khawaja (is important). I would go with Renshaw. He’s played a bit of Test cricket so he’s not a novice. (Jake) Weatherald coming into his first Test match is asking a fair bit, as they did of Konstas last Boxing Day. I don’t think Konstas has had the chance to prove himself at this stage so it is a bit of a risk taking him into the Test match. I certainly wouldn’t be tempted to experiment again with Labuschagne as an opener. He’s making runs, so he’s got No.3 locked away. Renshaw is a much different, more mature cricketer from the one who played Test cricket years ago. They picked him in the one-day squad, so they must have him in mind somewhere and want him around the squad. Understanding a little bit of the way things have worked, they like to have players around the one-day squad going into the Test match to be around the group. I would find it strange if they didn’t pick him.” Chappell reported during the launch of his new book, The Chappell Chronicles.
While Khawaja has been a regular in the opener’s role for Australia post the retirement of his long-time opening partner David Warner Australia has brought in openers like Konstas and others for the role. The Australian team management has also experimented with Marnus Labuschagne as an opener but the 31-year-old has failed to score consistently up the batting order. The Australian team management had also made all-rounder Cameron Green to play as the number 3 batsman in Tests in recent months but the all-rounder has not bowled in recent times. With all-rounder Beau Webster too showing fine form in recent months, there has been a talk about playing both the all-rounders in the first Test in Ashes. Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting believes Australia should play both Green and Webster. “We know that he (Green) hasn’t bowled for a long time. If he bowls or doesn’t bowl, it could have a big impact on the way Australia’s batting line-up (looks). I’d like to think that he [Webster] has (done enough) even if Green is bowling. Green will probably be on a limited workload anyway. I think Webster deserves to be in the side.” Ponting said on the ICC Review Podcast.
With skipper Pat Cummins not certain about being part of the opening Test as he is recovering from a back-injury, Steve Smith is expected to captain the side. Chappell, though, believes Travis Head should captain Australia in the absence of Cummins with Smith supporting Head. “I would go with Head, knowing that you’ve got Smith there to support him. It’s a great opportunity to give him that experience. If you think he’s your next long-term captain, getting in there while he’s got Smith around to give him that support. He has simplified the complexities of cricket, choosing to play the game in the simplest of ways rather than falling into the trap of overthinking or batting for survival. For me, Head is the most improved batter in world cricket in the past three years,” Chappell told reporters.
