Sam Konstas and Josh Inglis will both play in the first Test against West Indies with injured batter Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne to miss the series opener in Barbados.
Australia have made the unusual call to announce the pair’s return to the XI almost a week out from Wednesday’s first Test (midnight Thursday AEST) to give them time to prepare, a Cricket Australia media release said.
Labuschagne’s omission comes after he opened in the World Test Championship final loss to South Africa to accommodate Cameron Green’s return to the side at No.3, with the Queenslander managing scores of 17 and 22 before falling caught behind to Marco Jansen in both innings.
The 30-year-old’s numbers have tapered off since holding the ICC’s No.1 Test batter ranking for the first six months of 2023, with his last century coming in Manchester in the fourth Test of that year’s Ashes series.
Selection chair George Bailey backed Labuschagne to return to his best in the future.
“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 in a statement.
“We will continue working with him on the areas of his game we feel he needs to rediscover. We continue to value his skill and expect him to work through the challenge positively.”
Meanwhile, Smith has been ruled out of the first Test at Kensington Oval after dislocating his finger while fielding at slip in the WTC final.
The Australian No.4 took no further part in the game after copping a painful blow on the right little finger while fielding on day three.
Smith avoided surgery and travelled with the squad to Caribbean but will be required to keep his right digit in a splint for up to eight weeks following the compound dislocation.
Smith remains a chance of playing in the second Test in Grenada beginning on July 3 if he can tolerate wearing a splint while batting.
“Steve needs more time for the wound to heal so we’ll give him another week’s rest and assess his functionality after that,” Bailey said.
“We have made the decision to give Josh and Sam the opportunity to replace Steve and Marnus. We are excited to see them get the chance to further their fledgling Test careers.
“In his only opportunity in Test cricket to date, Josh was outstanding in Sri Lanka, showing great intent and ability to put pressure on the opposition.”