Overview
- Steve Smith will miss the opening Test in Barbados after dislocating a finger in the WTC final and is targeting a return for the Grenada match.
- Marnus Labuschagne has been left out of the playing XI after a poor run of scores and now serves as the squad’s lone reserve top-order option.
- Teenager Sam Konstas will open alongside Usman Khawaja at Kensington Oval while Josh Inglis is set to slot into the middle order.
- Travis Head says the revamped batting unit is ready to adapt to both pace and spin on Barbados’s firm, grass-covered wicket.
- Australia is weighing a two-spinner combination of Nathan Lyon and Matt Kuhnemann to exploit spin and reverse swing as the pitches deteriorate.