Follow UsNearly five months after a tear in his right calf, 36-year-old spinner Nathan Lyon has returned to the playing XI for the first Test against Pakistan in Perth on Thursday (December 14). The off-spinner comes at the expense of fellow off-spinner Todd Murphy, who was part of the setup in Australia’s last Test against England in the Ashes.
Notably, Australia have reinstated Travis Head as the vice-captain of the Test setup, with the left-handed batter being reappointed after he first took up the role under Tim Paine’s captaincy. However, if Pat Cummins is set to miss a Test, Steve Smith would take over captaincy duties, with the former skipper being the deputy for the leadership duties.
"Really excited to have Trav on board as the co-vice-captain," Cummins said on Wednesday. "He's been playing for a long time. He's always been a leader in our group. So we thought it was a good time to formally recognise that. Whilst nothing's imminent, Steve's not going to play forever. I daresay I'm not going to captain forever. So we feel like we've got some responsibility to future-proof the team and start trying to give opportunities to other leaders.
"But we're giving him a good opportunity. So when you look through the candidates for future captains, of course, he's (Head) going to be right up there. And I know in my last couple years before I became captain, being in some of those conversations as a vice-captain really helped fast-track my readiness. So down the track, it might be Trav, it might be someone else, but we want to make sure they're as prepared as they can be."
On the pace-front, there is no change, with Australia trusting in their pace trio of Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins. While Cameron Green came to form with his 96 in the Sheffield Shield against Queensland, Mitchell Marsh has been preferred as the first-choice all-rounder in the setup.
David Warner is set to play his last Test series and, as expected, makes it to the XI, with the Sydney Test against Pakistan confirmed to be his last game in the red-ball format.
Australia XI: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood