Cameron Green will start the first Test for Australia against the West Indies, the selectors said on Wednesday, but didn’t clarify who would replace David Warner as opener.
Warner retired from Test cricket at the weekend after playing his last against Pakistan in Sydney, having been a mainstay with the national team for 12 years.
Recognised openers Cameron Bancroft, Marcus Harris and Matt Renshaw were initially considered as main contenders for the job, until Steve Smith put his hat into the ring last week.
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Renshaw is the only change in a 13-man squad for the two-Test series that starts 17 January in Adelaide, leaving Bancroft and Harris out in the cold.
But chief selector George Bailey said Green, who has been forced out of contention in recent times by a resurgent Mitchell Marsh, would definitely play.
It would imply he either opens the innings or come in at No. 4, where he usually plays for Western Australia.
That scenario would allow Smith to open alongside Usman Khawaja, with local media reporting that Renshaw would be the reserve batter.
Neither Green nor Smith have previously opened in Test cricket.
“Cameron Green will come into the playing XI for the Test in Adelaide in a squad also containing Scott Boland and Matthew Renshaw,” said Bailey.
“We have selected a team we believe contains the best six batters in the country.”
Renshaw’s inclusion into the squad comes as a big blow for Bancroft, who is the leading run-scorer in Sheffield Shield (Australia’s domestic cricket competition) over the last two seasons. However, at 27, Renshaw is four years younger.
Whether pace spearheads Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, who played all three Tests against Pakistan, can back up for another two is another unknown.
If selectors decide to rest one of them, Boland will step in.
Selectors also named a 13-man squad for the one-day series against the West Indies that follows the Test matches, with Cummins rested and Smith taking over as skipper.
Marsh, Starc, and Hazlewood will also sit out the three games limited over games.
“The squad strikes a balance between players continuing to make their mark on international cricket, playing alongside some of our most experienced players with an eye to the future in this format,” said Bailey of the one-day squad.
Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (capt), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchel Marsh, Matt Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc
Australia ODI squad: Steve Smith (capt), Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson, Matt Short, Adam Zampa
Australia vs West Indies: Cameron Green named in squad, Matt Renshaw recalledRead More
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