After dominating New Zealand in the T20I series, Australia is set to kick off a two-match Test series on February 29.
Leading up to the upcoming match, the Australian team has officially announced their playing XI, confirming the presence of opener Steve Smith at the top. The trio of pacers, namely Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood, is set to be part of the squad as well.
All eyes, however, will be on Smith, who stepped into the shoes of the recently retired David Warner in the Test format. Despite his efforts in the West Indies series, where he faced challenges in the first innings but made an impressive 91* in the fourth, the team couldn’t secure a win as no other batter provided the necessary support. This resulted in a historic eight-run defeat to the Kraigg Brathwaite-led side at the Gabba, Brisbane.
Australia has maintained the same playing XI from the West Indies series, with Usman Khawaja, who had a remarkable 2023, yet to shine in 2024. Concerns also linger around Marnus Labuschagne, who, despite promising starts, has struggled to convert them into substantial scores. Labuschagne aims to overcome this challenge in the upcoming match.
Cummins announced that Australia would maintain the same playing XI for the upcoming first Test against New Zealand at Basin Reserve, scheduled for Thursday. In this lineup, Smith will take the opening batting position, and Cameron Green along with Mitch Marsh is confirmed to be part of the top six.
On the other side, New Zealand’s opening batsman, Devon Conway, won’t be participating in the first Test due to a thumb injury sustained during a T20 match against Australia last Friday in Auckland. The injury was revealed through scans, leading to Conway’s exclusion. In his absence, experienced batsman Henry Nicholls has been called up as a replacement.
The Black Caps are uncertain about Conway’s availability for the second and final Test starting on March 8 in Christchurch and are eagerly awaiting further updates. The T20 series ended with New Zealand losing 3-0 to Australia.
Australia Playing XI:
Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitch Starc, Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood
New Zealand Squad:
Tim Southee (c), Tom Blundell (wk), Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Scott Kuggeleijn, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Neil Wagner, Kane Williamson, Will Young, Henry Nicholls
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