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Australia stars Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne set to miss the upcoming first Test match against West Indies which will take place from June 25 to 30. Labuschagne has been dropped from the XI, and Steve Smith missed his spot from the opener clash because of the injury he got in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa at Lord's Stadium in England.
Cricket Australia said that Smith would miss the opening match of the three-test series because of a finger injury sustained in the World Test Championship final loss to South Africa last weekend at Lord´s. He is expected to be fit for the second test against the West Indies.
Chief selector George Bailey confirmed that young opener Sam Konstas and wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis would replace Smith and Marnus Labuschagne.
He said Smith needed more time for a wound to heal and he´d be reassessed after another week.
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"We have made the decision to give Josh and Sam the opportunity to replace Steve and Marnus," Bailey said. "We are excited to see them get the chance to further their fledgling test careers."
Sam Konstas has made his Test debut against India in the five-Test match series of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 and he came into the scene with an almost run-a-ball 60 against India in the Boxing Day test in Melbourne last December.
The 30-year-old Marnus Labuschagne was featured as an opener in the WTC final against South Africa. The right-handed batter averages 46.19 in 104 test innings, including 11 centuries and 23 half-centuries, but has struggled for form in recent series. His last century came in 2023 Ashes series in Manchester and hasn't scored above 26 in his most recent four test matches. Moved up to open in the WTC final against South Africa, he got starts but was managed to score just 17 and 22.
"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," Bailey said. "We will continue working with him on the areas of his game we feel he needs to rediscover."
The batting order and playing XI will be announced closer to the start of the Test next Wednesday. The second test is scheduled to start on July 3.
Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster
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