Melbourne: Head coach Andrew McDonald was wary of making too many changes for the series finale, with valuable ICC World Test Championship points at stake as the Aussies strive for a third successive appearance in the final.
The Aussies travel to the SCG for the fifth Test of the series, holding an unassailable 3-1 advantage, but the side will be keen to atone for the disappointing four-wicket loss to England in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
“WTC is something that we aim and strive for. Every Test match is vitally important, and we like to think we just pick the best Test team for that surface based upon that opponent, because the WTC is something that is held in such high regard by this group. We like to be consistent,” McDonald told reporters in Melbourne on Monday.
Khawaja was one player McDonald did guarantee would appear in Sydney, with the Australian coach dismissing any suggestion that the veteran batter would announce his retirement from international cricket.
Khawaja began the Ashes series as one of Australia’s openers, a role he had held since returning to the side in early 2022. However, severe back spasms while fielding in the Perth Test prevented him from opening the batting and forced him to miss the following Brisbane Test.
However, he responded well in Adelaide, scoring 82 and 40 after earning a late reprieve on the day of the game when Steve Smith was ruled out of the contest.
“We’re always having conversations about where players are at and speaking directly with players, there’s no indication at my end that he’s calling it in Sydney. His performance in this calendar year has been good enough to warrant selection so I’d say he’ll be there marking centre in Sydney,” McDonald said.
Khawaja has shown no signs of calling time on his career ahead of the fifth Test, which begins on January 4.
“I think Uz will come to us if he’s going to retire, there’s no doubt about that. And then after this Test match, we’ve got eight months until the next one, so we’ve got a lot of time as a selection group to make that decision.
“If there was a series straight off the back of this, then it would be a little bit different. But with the eight-month gap, as a selection panel, we’ve got a lot of time to think about our next Test team should Uz push forward,” he added.
McDonald also suggested that spinner Todd Murphy would be strongly considered for the SCG contest, while back-up all-rounder Beau Webster is also a chance of returning to replace Cameron Green.
“It’s a nice problem to have. People are going to debate selection. They’re going to debate where Cameron’s at at this point in time and how he fits.
“We know we’ve got a quality player (in Webster) sitting there waiting. We’ve got a batting order that we’d like to think can function at a higher capacity, so we’ll be having conversations leading into Sydney,” McDonald said of his selection dilemma for the Sydney Test.
McDonald believes the SCG pitch may favour Australia selecting a specialist spinner and that he would like to see what Murphy could offer.
“It takes a lot for us to not pick a spinner, and we have been pushed into making that decision,” McDonald noted.
“Red-ball games, that’s the first time in a long time that we haven’t picked a spinner (in Melbourne). It’s not something that we like doing. I don’t think it’s something that will happen moving forward.
“I’d love to pick Todd. I’d love to see what he’s got to offer. We think he’s back to his best, and what we’ve seen when he’s come closer to the camp has been excellent. We’d love to pick him,” he said.
(IANS)
