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With Ngidi and Behrendorff unavailable, the Super Kings could turn to Tahir for wicket-taking bite

Hemant Brar15-Apr-20218:12

Should the Punjab Kings stick with Meredith and Richardson?

Big picture

The Chennai Super Kings have built their empire on the mostly slow and spin-friendly pitches of the MA Chidambaram Stadium, where they found ways to control the pace of the fast-moving format. In 2018, their “Dad’s Army” proved that age was just a number. In 2019, they came within one ball of a repeat. But when the tournament moved to the UAE in 2020, they struggled to adapt, mainly because their squad was built for a particular set of conditions.While IPL 2021 is being played in India, little has changed for the Super Kings with no team playing at home through the season. The Super Kings are playing their first five games at the Wankhede Stadium, where the conditions are in stark contrast to those at Chepauk. But while they lost their opening match to the Delhi Capitals despite scoring 188, they showed a glimpse of a changed approach when Moeen Ali and Suresh Raina kept playing attacking cricket despite the loss of two early wickets. They know they need more of that.Their opponents for Friday, the Punjab Kings, began their campaign with a last-ball win against the Rajasthan Royals. Apart from the result, they ticked a few other boxes as well. KL Rahul batted freely for his 50-ball 91, Chris Gayle was also among the runs, and Deepak Hooda, promoted to No. 4, smashed 64 off just 28 balls. While their overseas fast bowlers Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith were expensive, the Punjab Kings would believe they are very close to nailing their best XI.

In the news

The Super Kings will have to manage without Lungi Ngidi and Jason Behrendorff as both remain unavailable because of quarantine rules.

Likely XIs

Punjab Kings: 1 KL Rahul (capt, wk), 2 Mayank Agarwal, 3 Chris Gayle, 4 Deepak Hooda, 5 Nicholas Pooran, 6 Shahrukh Khan, 7 Chris Jordan, 8 Jhye Richardson, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Arshdeep SinghChennai Super Kings: 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 2 Faf du Plessis, 3 Moeen Ali, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 Ambati Rayudu, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 8 Sam Curran, 9 Dwayne Bravo, 10 Shardul Thakur, 11 Deepak ChaharShould the Super Kings pick Imran Tahir to add wicket-taking bite to their attack?•BCCI

Strategy punt

• In the Super Kings’ last game, their bowlers were taken to the cleaners by Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan. Ideally, they would like to have an out-and-out fast bowler in their XI as a wicket-taking option, but with Ngidi and Behrendorff unavailable, legspinner Imran Tahir may not be a bad choice. Tahir could replace Faf du Plessis, and that won’t necessarily weaken their batting as they had Deepak Chahar slotted at No. 11 against the Capitals. In du Plessis’ absence, Ambati Rayudu can open with incumbent Ruturaj Gaikwad.
• Death bowling was the Achilles heel for the Punjab Kings last season. While Meredith can bowl at a fierce pace, Chris Jordan is a more proven customer and can pair with Arshdeep Singh at the death. Plus, Jordan also provides the lower-order batting cushion that the Punjab Kings need; their batting ability could otherwise nosedive after No. 6.

Stats that matter

• 91, 91, 100*, 94. Those are KL Rahul’s last four T20 scores at the Wankhede Stadium. Overall, in seven T20s innings at this venue, Rahul has 428 runs at an average of 71.33 and a strike rate of 152.85.
• In the two matches played at the Wankhede stadium so far this IPL, seamers have picked up 20 wickets in 56.4 overs (a wicket every 17 balls). Spinners, on the other hand, have just two scalps in 22 overs (a wicket every 66 balls). However, both seamers and spinners have conceded more than ten an over.
• Last season, the then Kings XI Punjab managed just one wicket across their two games against the Super Kings. The Super Kings trounced them by ten wickets in Dubai and by nine in Abu Dhabi.

Batsman reprimanded for Level 1 offence following his dismissal in final T20I against New Zealand

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Nov-2019England batsman Jonny Bairstow has been reprimanded and given one demerit point by the ICC after being found guilty of “use of an audible obscenity during an international match”.The Level 1 offence was levelled at Bairstow by the match officials after England’s fifth T20I against New Zealand in Auckland. Bairstow was picked up by the television broadcast swearing loudly after his dismissal by Jimmy Neesham. His 18-ball 47 had kept his side in contention to win the deciding match, and Bairstow subsequently went out to bat in the Super Over as England clinched the series.Bairstow currently has two demerit points on his record, having previously received a reprimand for swinging his bat at the stumps on being dismissed during an ODI against Pakistan in May. Accruing four during any two-year period leads to an automatic suspension.

Two late wickets left Yorkshire facing a mountain to climb to take anything from the match

David Hopps31-Aug-2018
ScorecardThe suspicion is growing that the Championship season is turning sour for Yorkshire and it will take a redoubtable display on the final day at Headingley to challenge the notion. Somerset, playing with a verve that identifies them as Championship contenders, have set them 418 – a victory target they have never achieved – and Lewis Gregory who can currently do no wrong, has already accounted for the openers Harry Brook and Adam Lyth in an eight-over foray before the close.Brook was bowled cheaply by Gregory for the second time in the match – his promotion to opener, at 19, has not brought immediate rewards – and Lyth was caught at the wicket playing defensively in an uplifting finale for Somerset as they attempt to keep Surrey within binocular range.As for Yorkshire, Lancashire’s win at Southport has left then in the bottom two for the moment (that much is clear, although as usual every table is different while the matches are in progress and frankly life’s too short). Next week they go to Trent Bridge to face a Nottinghamshire side expected to give a debut to Ben Duckett, a batsman Yorkshire had also harboured hopes of signing. Such little coincidences don’t always turn out well.Somerset’s declaration at 338 for 7 centred upon a first Championship hundred of the season for Tom Abell, who played with poise throughout, and increasingly with dash for 132 not out from 168 balls, in an innings that culminated in 150 runs in 20.1 overs after tea.Abell’s modesty shines through. His growing confidence means he can reflect back on his struggles last season without embarrassment. His average is top side of 40 this season but it is centuries that really put bristles on your cheeks. “I’m quite happy with my season,” he said. “I’ve been contributing in places, but scoring hundreds for Somerset is what I wanted to do as a kid.”Yorkshire’s attack was flayed as Somerset rushed towards the declaration despite the unexpected presence of Matt Fisher, who had been suggested as unlikely to bowl in the second innings because of the recurrence of a toe injury that needed stitches during an England Lions series a month ago.For Fisher, far from fit, to bowl more overs than the fourth seamer, Josh Shaw, questioned the selection of Shaw ahead of either of Yorkshire’s two new signings, seamer Mathew Pillans and legspinner Josh Poysden. Pillans has a sound first-class record, despite limited opportunities at Surrey, and, as far as spin is concerned, it would be a surprise if Jack Leach did not find purchase on the final day.Abell has had a productive time against the Pennines counties this season, taking 82 off Yorkshire earlier this season, making 99 at Old Trafford when he became becalmed in sight of his goal before being pinned in front by Joe Mennie and now a fourth first-class hundred, only three short of his career-best.There were many good things for Abell to reflect upon, but he might be best advised to remain silent about the two fives he took off David Willey courtesy of overthrows as Yorkshire’s fielding deteriorated under pressure in the afternoon. Willey, who removed both Somerset openers, was the most disciplined of Yorkshire’s attack, but many more overthrows off his bowling and he could make Medusa just resemble an innocent young thing with a jazzy hairstyle.Gregory, who shared a stand of 93 in 13 overs, has had an extraordinary week where just about every delivery has felt like a ball he can hit for four. The dynamism that began with his 60 from 24 balls against Nottinghamshire in the Vitality Blast quarter-final at Taunton on Monday has spilled into his Championship season.Gregory came to Headingley with a grim Championship average around 15 but form can cross formats. Against Yorkshire, in two post-tea sessions, he has punished the old ball so successfully that 122 runs have come from 87 balls, vital in keeping enough time in the game for their rewarding third-evening declaration.He began with a stunning on drive against Jack Brooks, pulled Fisher with such certainty that he might have played the shot in slow motion and reached his fifty with a six over point. He fell at deep mid-on, another uninhibited blow against Willey. “I’ve not been in the game very long but never seen anyone striking it as well and as consistently as he is,” said Abell. Nice enthusiasm from a captain who knows that the history of the game is not written in a week.Abell’s partner for most of the afternoon had been James Hildreth in a fourth-wicket stand of 135 which recovered Somerset from 29 for 3, a tottering start to their second innings which threatened to destabilise their first-innings lead of 79. Hildreth, who posted 81 first time around, fell for 72, dabbing at a nondescript delivery from the fill-in offspinner Lyth.Earlier, Somerset’s Scotland seamer, Josh Davey, returned a career-best five wickets, but there was no farewell hundred (if indeed it is a farewell) for Andrew Hodd, who added only a single to his overnight 84. Presumably he is saving that for the final day?

Gary Ballance and Liam Dawson have both been named in a 12-man squad to face South Africa at Lord’s for what will be Joe Root’s first Test as captain.

Andrew Miller01-Jul-20172:05

Bayliss tips Root and Cook to flourish in new roles

Gary Ballance could bat at No. 3 in the first Test against South Africa at Lord’s next week, while Liam Dawson, the Hampshire spinner, has a chance to retain his place after making his debut on England’s tour of India in December, after both were named in a 12-man squad for what will be Joe Root’s first Test as captain.Ballance, Root’s county captain at Yorkshire, appeared to have run out of chances at Test level when he was dropped following England’s maiden Test defeat against Bangladesh in October, having managed just 24 runs in the two-Test series.However, he has been in outstanding form this season, averaging more than 100 in eight County Championship matches, including an historic double of 108 and 203 not out against Hampshire in April, and Root’s influence has earned him another crack, potentially at first-drop if Root himself chooses to slip down the order to No.4.

England squad

Joe Root (capt), Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Gary Ballance, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Liam Dawson, Toby Roland-Jones, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, Jimmy Anderson.

As anticipated, Haseeb Hameed, the young Lancashire opener who impressed in arduous circumstances in India, has been overlooked following a struggle for runs in the County Championship this season. His absence means that Keaton Jennings, who replaced the injured Hameed on that tour of India and marked his debut with a century in Mumbai, will once open alongside the former captain, Alastair Cook.Dawson’s retention comes as something of a surprise after his inclusion as a horses-for-courses selection in the fifth and final Test against India in Chennai. He claimed two wickets in a comprehensive innings defeat, but proved his mettle with an unbeaten 66 in his maiden Test innings.Gary Ballance could bat at No.3 in Joe Root’s first Test as captain•AFP

His place in the side will be dependant on the conditions at Lord’s, with Moeen Ali still England’s primary spinner, not least on account of his twin hundreds in the India series. Instead, it appears likelier that Toby Roland-Jones, the Middlesex seamer, could be handed a maiden Test cap on his home ground.Roland-Jones, who made his England debut in the ODI series against South Africa earlier in the season, adds to England’s seam options following the loss of Chris Woakes to a side strain during the Champions Trophy and Jake Ball to a recent knee injury.Stuart Broad, who had been sweating on his fitness ahead of today’s Royal London Cup final between Nottinghamshire and Surrey, is expected to be ready to lead the attack alongside his long-term new-ball partner James Anderson, who has recovered from a groin strain.Mark Wood, who hasn’t played Test cricket since leaving the tour of the UAE in 2015 to undergo the first of three ankle operations, is back in the squad after an impressive showing in white-ball cricket in recent months.”There is great excitement around the first Test of the summer and with the start of a new era under the captaincy of Joe Root this is an exciting time for English cricket,” said James Whitaker, the national selector.”Toby Roland-Jones is a player we have been monitoring for quite some time and deserves his chance after a strong couple of seasons with Middlesex in red-ball cricket. He came close last year when he was named in the Test squad against Pakistan in July. Toby has been in good form this campaign and his ability to seam the ball along with the fact that he can score useful runs down the order gives us a number of options.”Yorkshire’s Gary Ballance could play his first Test since October. He has been in fantastic touch with the bat in the Championship averaging over 100. He deserves to be included and we feel that he will add maturity and experience to our middle-order.”On behalf of the selectors, I would like to wish Joe Root, Trevor Bayliss and all the squad the very best for what will be a competitive series against South Africa.”

Australia batsman Usman Khawaja has said that the shattering death of Phillip Hughes and his Muslim faith has contributed to a more balanced outlook on the game

Daniel Brettig01-Jun-2016Usman Khawaja has always batted with a certain grace. His languid movements and supple wrists have combined for a visual style that suggests ease and peace, and a sense of time to spare enjoyed by only the very best players.But until fairly recently, the image was also something of an illusion. Khawaja’s technique may have looked smooth, but inside his head turmoil and worry raged. He was unsure of his place in the game, and his future in the Australian team. This fretfulness played out over a handful of Test matches that reaped only two half centuries and many slim scores.Ahead of Australia’s triangular series against the West Indies and South Africa, Khawaja has spoken of how the shattering death of Phillip Hughes contributed to a more balanced outlook on the game, and how his Muslim faith has helped him to retain it. The proof of Khawaja’s development can be found in his performance, peeling off century after century last summer and winning an all-format place in Australia’s plans.”We obviously lost Hughesy and I did my knee in the space of two weeks, so it was a pretty rough time,” Khawaja told reporters in Guyana. “So you just sort of learn to let go a little bit.”When I first came into the Australian team I wanted to make such a good impression and to do so much and so well, which is normal for a young kid. Now I’m just more relaxed about it all. What’s meant to be is meant to be.”I train really hard, I do the right things at training, and then when the game time comes I just try and compete and if it’s good enough, it’s good enough. If it’s not, so be it.”Cricket Australia has highlighted Khawaja’s Pakistani background and Muslim belief as signs of the game’s diverse future down under, but the man himself has been reticent at times to speak of a personal faith. However his development as a cricketer links directly to the sense of peace and perspective it gives him these days, meaning Khawaja was this time a little more expansive.”The game can be quite tough at times and stressful and emotional,” he said. “So you have to find a way to bring yourself back to your centre. Everyone does that in different ways. I have my own way and I do it because you play so much cricket and so much is going on, you can sometimes forget about that sort of stuff. It’s a good question because it happens a lot.”I pray. That’s what keeps me centred. The number one most important thing in my life is religion. That comes first and that helps me with everything else, cricket included. I haven’t become any more religious. I think I’ve just found a happy medium of religion helping me with life in general.”It sort of happens when something as big as what happened a couple of years ago with Hughesy happens. I think everyone took it in a different way. Everyone finds different avenues and aspects so that’s one big one for me.”In the Caribbean, Khawaja will again be pitched into a contest for places in the batting order, as the likes of Aaron Finch, David Warner and the captain Steven Smith all lay claim to places in the top three. Once upon a time this may have worried Khawaja, bringing anxiety and nerves close to the surface and clouding his method with the bat.But this time it will be more likely he takes events in his stride, whether cuffing balls to the boundary or running drinks for others. It’s not the end of the world, after all.”Obviously I love opening but I know that Finchy and Davey have been doing it for a while too, so I understand that and I’m glad to be part of this team,” Khawaja said. “I wasn’t around at all last year or the year before that, so I don’t look that far ahead. All that stuff has no bearing on me, it’s the selectors and coaches, they make those decisions and I just try to go out there and play cricket to the best of my ability. I’d be happy to play anywhere in the top order, but we’ve got a lot of very good players here too, so it just depends what happens.”

An invigorated Younis Khan and a determined Azhar Ali took command of the second Test, putting on 250 for the third wicket, as Pakistan loped to 323 for 3 at stumps

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando06-May-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:12

Isam: Pakistan took full advantage of conditions

An invigorated Younis Khan and a determined Azhar Ali took command of the second Test, putting on 250 for the third wicket, as Pakistan loped to 323 for 3 at stumps. Azhar and Younis defused the early menace when they came together at 58 for 2, began to counterpunch in the second session and were bludgeoning Bangladesh around the Shere Bangla when Younis was dismissed for 148 off 195, with only five full overs to play in the day. Azhar stayed not out on 127, having ridden early luck.Seduced by an unusually dense covering of grass on the Mirpur surface, Mushfiqur Rahim was dealt a poor hand. He had already gambled by bowling first with only two seamers in the attack. Two balls into the match Shahadat Hossain – who had come into the side for the injured Rubel Hossain – hobbled off the field after taking a tumble during his delivery stride. Mushfiqur was forced to rely on part-time seamer Soumya Sarkar and a phalanx of spinners, who were defanged by a first-day pitch that offered only modest turn. That both centurions should have been out earlier if bowlers had not delivered no balls, added to Mushfiqur’s considerable stress.The seam movement Mushfiqur had anticipated played a role in Mohammad Hafeez’ dismissal, when Shahid set him up with lifter that jagged back in, then drew the edge with a straighter delivery. That dismissal had Pakistan at 9 for 1, but the injury to Shahadat prevented Bangladesh from pushing as hard as they could have in the first hour. With lunch in sight, they took their second wicket, when Sami Aslam ran at Taijul, and put him in the hands of deep midwicket.There was tug-and-pull in the first overs of the Azhar-Younis association, as Azhar overcame a series of close calls. Earlier in the morning, he was walking back to the dressing room after edging Mohammad Shahid to third slip, when replays showed the bowler had not landed his heel behind the popping crease. Reprieved on 18, Azhar gave further chances off spin at 34 and 35 to Mominul Haque at silly point and short leg. Both times the ball whizzed quickly between the fielder’s legs before he could get low enough.Younis deadbatted his way to 1 off 15 before lunch, but opened his shoulders in the second session, clearing his front leg to send the spinners over mid-on – once for six – before masterfully employing the sweep to raise the tempo further. By the fourth hour of the day, a pattern to his progress emerged. Every now and then, he’d interrupt the steady thrum of singles he and Azhar had worked up, to shuffle forward into a sweep. He’d watch for the overcorrection next ball then play off the back foot, often finding runs square on the off side. He reached 50 off 72 balls and by late-afternoon, his strike rate hovered around 75.Azhar meanwhile, sunk time into re-establishing himself at the crease after his early scares, and was only punishing bad balls for most of the day. Shakib Al Hasan and Taijul Islam attempted a variety of plans, tempting Azhar outside off in the second session to lure another mistake. But Azhar gritted through this, while Younis gave the innings impetus at the other end.Younis was the first to his hundred after tea, but not before he too was called back to the crease, after presenting a catch to short cover. Soumya had overstepped to reprieve him on 78, and then Younis breezed through to the second new ball, reaching his 29th Test ton with a tow to deep cover to end a period of relative calm, before attacking again. A slog-swept six over deep midwicket off Shakib heralded the charge, which Azhar soon joined. His made his eighth trip to triple-figures by launching Taijul down the ground for four.With neither spinners nor seamers able to glean much from the old ball, Mushfiqur threw his part-timers at Pakistan, who were only too glad to face them. By the 80th over, Pakistan’s run rate had ticked above 3.5.Shahid broke the stand with the second new ball, when he had Younis slicing to backward point, two runs short of his 150. Misbah-ul-Haq announced himself at the crease with a six over long-on off the second ball he faced, but otherwise he and Azhar were content to hunker down till stumps.

Sachin Tendulkar has said that he will reassess his cricketing future in November amid growing calls for him to consider retirement

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-2012Sachin Tendulkar has said that he will reassess his cricketing future in November, when he plays the home Tests against England. Tendulkar, who has previously been non-committal on questions about his retirement, also said any decision about ending a 23-year career will depend on both his form and his motivation levels.”I need not take a call right now. When I play in November, I will re-assess things,” Tendulkar was quoted as saying in .”I am 39 and I don’t think I have plenty of cricket left in me. But it depends on my frame of mind and my physical ability to deliver. When I feel that I am not delivering what is needed, and then I will re-look at the scheme of things. I am already 39 and no one expects me to go on playing forever.”In his latest series, the home Tests against New Zealand, he was bowled in each of his three innings for low scores. Sunil Gavaskar was among those concerned by Tendulkar’s poor form. “The gap between the pad and the bat is a worrying sign,” Gavaskar had said. “This is never a good sign for a great batsman.”Tendulkar, however, felt that it was natural for the questions to be asked. “There are two different things – scoring runs and what I feel. For instance, if this three-wicket ordeal had happened when I was 25, no one would have questioned it. Incidentally, it happened when I am 39, so questions were raised. This is natural.”Tendulkar has played 190 Tests and he said he is not chasing any particular mark. India play England in a four-Test series starting November followed by another four-Test series against Australia early next year.”I am looking at it series by series. As long as I feel that I can deliver, I will continue playing. It also depends on what the team feels and whether I am motivated enough to continue being on top of the game.”

A late collapse from Namibia and a quick half-century from Paul Stirling left Ireland with just 38 more to get, with six wickets in hand, to win the Intercontinental Cup match

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Sep-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsChristi Viljoen top-scored with 87 before he was bowled by John Mooney as Ireland established firm control of the match•ICC

A late collapse from Namibia and a quick half-century from Paul Stirling left Ireland with just 38 more to get, with six wickets in hand, to win the Intercontinental Cup match. A couple of strikes from Louis van der Westhuizen just before stumps gave Namibia a window of hope going in to the fourth day but it is a small one, as Ireland’s centurion from the first innings Andrew White is still at the wicket along with his captain Kevin O’Brien.Namibia were 124 for 2 at one stage in their innings, but ended up being bowled out for 226, leaving Ireland 173 to win. It was not a straightforward chase given the highest total of the game had been 298, but Stirling attacked Namibia and Ireland were cruising at 75 for 1. He was trapped lbw by Stephan Baard but Alex Cusack guided the chase with a steady 42, before van der Westhuizen gave Namibia the slightest of openings.Stirling made his intentions clear early, hitting the fourth ball he faced for a six over fine leg.
Louis Klazinga was the recipient of most of the punishment, and Stirling took him for three boundaries in the ninth over, two through point and one to midwicket. Stirling looked like he wanted to finish the game on the third day itself, and smashed Baard for two boundaries to long-on in the 15th over before he missed one and was caught in front. The scoring did not slow too much once he was gone though, and Ireland finished the day on 135 for 4 from just 32 overs.Namibia’s day started badly with Stephanus Ackermann falling in the first over, caught at extra-cover off John Mooney. Christi Viljoen, who had started aggressively on the second day, looked to play the anchor role while Namibia captain Craig Williams went for his shots, hitting eight fours in his 40 off 43 balls. George Dockrell, who took five wickets in the first innings, had Williams caught behind down the leg side and Viljoen went soon after the lunch break bowled by an inswinger from Mooney.After that Namibia struggled to put together partnerships, and Dockrell helped himself to two more wickets to take his match-tally to eight.

A 140-run opening stand followed by disciplined bowling enabled Mountaineers to inflict a crushing 111-run defeat on the Mashonaland Eagles in Harare

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Sep-2010
ScorecardA 140-run opening stand between Tino Mawoyo and Jonathan Beukes, followed by disciplined bowling enabled Mountaineers to inflict a 111-run defeat on the Mashonaland Eagles in Harare.Mawoyo – who played two ODIs for Zimbabwe against Bangladesh in 2006 – hit ten fours in his 73 off 79 deliveries while Beukes hit seven fours and a six in his 69 off 80. After their dismissals, Timycen Maruma, Mark Vermeulen and former South Africa allrounder Lance Klusener kept up the pressure on Eagles as 134 runs came in the last 15 overs.The Eagles’ chase started poorly when they reduced to 8 for 2. Though opener Simbarashe Gupo tried to steady the innings, wickets fell regularly and once they collapsed to 91 for 6, Eagles were out of the game. Seamer Silent Mujaji took 3 for 30 as Eagles were eventually dismissed for 163.Mountaineers earned a bonus point for their huge win. This was Eagles’ second loss to Mountaineers in four days after they had lost a close Logan Cup match by 14 runs.

Travis Head revealed that the visitors are considering a batting order than changes from innings to innings with a match

AAP27-Jan-20251:52

Smith: Konstas can bat conventionally too, he’s got ‘all the tools’

Australia will consider taking the drastic step of changing its batting order mid-Test match to combat its selection dilemma at the top for the Sri Lanka series.Travis Head and Sam Konstas arrived in Galle seemingly locked in a battle to partner veteran opener Usman Khawaja for the first of two matches beginning on January 29.Teenage swashbuckler Konstas is the incumbent and helped seal Australia’s first series win over India in a decade with valuable contributions across his first two Test matches.Related

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• Konstas hopes to embrace Sri Lanka challenge after heated India start

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Australia’s middle-order aggressor on home soil, Head averaged 55.75 runs as David Warner’s injury replacement during the final two and a half Tests on the last subcontinent to India in 2023.”I don’t know where I’m going to bat at this stage,” Head said ahead of Monday’s main training session for the first Test. “We’ll see how that wicket plays out over the next couple of days.”But Head revealed Australia had been discussing the prospect of shifting its batting order mid-game if pitch conditions called for flexibility.Questions remain as to how much spin will be on offer from day one in the Test matches, with the pitch playing very differently in Galle across Australia’s last two visits in 2022 and 2016.Travis Head has dominated in the middle order at home, but the subcontinent has been a different story•Getty Images

Head is more experienced in Asia than Konstas, who is embarking on his first subcontinent Test tour, but has not always been able to make the best of turning wickets. He said when it came to the opener debate, Australia may be able to have its cake and eat it too.”It’s been a topic of conversation for the last little bit in this team on whether the Australian first innings, second innings, why doesn’t the order change?” Head said. “Why can’t we be flexible? What moves? How can we be brave? That hasn’t played out as such yet. Is this the tour to do it? We’ll wait and see.”The current Australian team has often changed its batting order mid-game to deploy a nightwatchman, usually Nathan Lyon, but a premeditated mid-game switch would be unprecedented. But in the era of Konstas reverse-ramp shots and booming support for Test cricket, Head feels the time is ripe for change.”The game is evolving, so why not continue to see where we can make jumps and leaps and where can we get an advantage?” he said. “If that’s using people in different positions, it’s not traditionally done a hell of a lot … [but] this team’s experienced enough and in a great position where players will be open to that if needed to be.”