Regarding Australia’s top six batsmen for the forthcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy, head coach Andrew McDonald recently shared his thoughts. McDonald stated that while there hasn’t been any conversation regarding the starting lineup for the team as of yet, a top six akin to the one from the last series is reasonable to anticipate.
Notably, with David Warner’s retirement from Test cricket, veteran batsman Steve Smith moved up the order to bat first in the batting order. McDonald asserts that Smith’s position in the middle order is not assured by Warner’s retirement. Furthermore, he discussed handling multiple “what if” scenarios.
“Obviously, someone else will have to take the helm if we make a change with Steve Smith. At No. 4, Cameron Green has also demonstrated remarkable success. Therefore, that adds layers to the decision-making process, but nothing is set in stone at this time,” he continued.
The top six batters continue to hold a lot of our belief. McAlister
Despite his lackluster performances as an opener, Steve Smith appears certain to make the team, no matter what the selectors decide between him and players like Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head, and Mitchell Marsh. his place in the side looks assured.
“That’s something we’ve talked about, and we still think the best six batters are in the lineup. We think the team that won in New Zealand would be the best-positioned players to fill that spot, no question about it, if they had a clean run at it and were well-prepared,” McDonald noted.
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Furthermore, the head coach revealed that Australia’s focus will be on the forthcoming home-grown series versus India. In order to allow the Test players to play in the Sheffield Shield, they may choose to rest them during the white ball series against Pakistan.