No room for Dane Paterson or Sam Konstas as South Africa and Australia name XIs for World Test Championship final
Australia have named the playing XI for this week’s World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord’s in London, England.
Batsman Sam Konstas, spinner Matt Kuhnemann, wicketkeeper-batsman Josh Inglis and seamer Scott Boland are in the 15-man squad, but have been excluded from the XI.
Opening batsman Marnus Labuschagne was preferred to Konstas.
“Marnus has experience, he has done well here at Lord’s and in England in general,” said Australia captain Pat Cummins.
“Opening the batting can be tough, but it can also be sometimes the best time to bat, before the Dukes ball actually starts swinging.
“There’s an opportunity to score there, so just keeping that ball in tow I think is going to mean something.
“Realistically, Sam is really young, he’s got a long career ahead of him. So hopefully, even by not playing, we can show him their learning opportunities.”
Seamer Josh Hazlewood was selected ahead of Boland.
“There are some guys where you generally say you’ve done nothing wrong, don’t change a thing, and that’s Scott and he’s just really unfortunate to miss out,” added Cummins.
“The message to Scott is there’s a lot of Test matches coming up in the next couple of years, and just because you’re in your mid-30s doesn’t mean you’re missing this Test and that’s the last Test of your career.
“I think by having a squad of fast bowlers, hopefully we can extend a lot of careers for an extra couple of years.”
Australia World Test Championship final XI
- Usman Khawaja
- Marnus Labuschagne
- Cameron Green
- Steven Smith
- Travis Head
- Beau Webster
- Alex Carey (wicketkeeper)
- Pat Cummins (captain)
- Mitchell Starc
- Nathan Lyon
- Josh Hazlewood
South Africa have also named their playing XI for the WTC final.
Spinner Senuran Muthusamy, batsman Tony de Zorzi and seamers Dane Paterson and Corbin Bosch are in the 15-man squad, but have been excluded from the XI.
Fast bowler Lungi Ngidi, who has not played Test cricket in 10 months, has been preferred to Paterson.
“Probably one of the tougher decisions that has been made. We see what Dane Paterson did for us to the end of last season,” said Proteas captain Temba Bavuma.
“But it was more from a tactical point of view. Probably a little bit more pace from Lungi, guess he’s a bit taller as well.
“Lungi also has a better record, not taking away anything from Paterson. Ngidi has the experience, he’s played here before, not that Paterson hasn’t.
“But I think Ngidi will complement that bowling attack a little more. It was probably one of the difficult decision we had to make.”
All-rounder Wiaan Mulder has been named at position number three in the batting order instead of de Zorzi.
“Mulder is quite young in that position. But I think having played with Mulder, having seen him and the way he has grown in the last two years within the red-ball format,” added Bavuma.
“It’s about giving him a lot more confidence, keep backing him and just allowing him to do what he does best. He has an opportunity in a pressure situation, but I think he can take comfort from the fact that the guys are backing him. We just want him to play his game.”
South Africa World Test Championship final XI
- Aiden Markram
- Ryan Rickelton
- Wiaan Mulder
- Temba Bavuma (captain)
- Tristan Stubbs
- David Bedingham
- Kyle Verrynne (wicketkeeper)
- Marco Jansen
- Keshav Maharaj
- Kagiso Rabada
- Lungi Ngidi
