Australia to name debutant for Boxing Day Test
Hosts select teenager to open the batting in pivotal fourth Border-Gavaskar Test
Australian men's coach Andrew McDonald has confirmed the selection of debutant Sam Konstas for the fourth Border-Gavaskar Test in Melbourne, beginning on December 26.
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At 19 years and 85 days, Konstas will be the fourth-youngest Australian Test debutant, and fittingly will play under Pat Cummins, who himself debuted as an 18-year-old in South Africa in 2011.
Watch every boundary from Konstas at U19 Cricket World Cup 2024
Every Sam Konstas boundary | U19 CWC 2024
While Konstas' inclusion was confirmed, the rest of the XI is yet to be finalised, with Travis Head still yet to pass a late fitness test to take part.
McDonald confirmed Head sustained a quad strain late in the third Test while batting, though is tipped to take part in Melbourne.
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Scott Boland meanwhile is likely to come into the team as the replacement for fellow pace bowler Josh Hazlewood, who succumbed to a calf strain at The Gabba.
On top of series bragging rights, the two teams are in a tussle for a spot in the World Test Championship Final, held at Lord's in June 2025.
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Australia (58.89% of possible points) and India (55.88%) currently trail South Africa (63.33) at the top of the table, with the Proteas hosting Pakistan in their final two Tests of the cycle.
World Test Championship Standings
Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Travis Head (vc), Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster
India Test squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar. Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Dayal