Australian captain Steven Smith is very confident of playing the second Test against West Indies in the ongoing series, which will be started from “Boxing day” at Melbourne.
Today CA (Cricket Australia) announced their second and third Test squad against West Indies. 13 players were named for 2nd Test while 14 players were named for the 3rd Test as spinner Stephen O’Keefe added in the third Test. The third and final Test will begin from 3rd January.
Smith will miss domestic T20 matches due to his knee and hip injuries, but he clarified that he will available for the second Test of this series.
If Smith and Usman Khawaja will be fit, then it will be tough for the selectors to choose their batting line-up. Khawaja, who was ruled out from the last two Test due to a hamstring injury, also needs to prove his fitness through Big Bass League (BBL).
Australian coach Darren Lehman said, “Usman’s first got to be fit. If he’s not fit he won’t play, there’s no doubt about that. We’ve got to make sure he’s playing BBL to get some sort of match fitness and see how the strain of the hamstring is and then when we get him in … we’ll have a look at him and see whether he’s available to play.”
Shaun Marsh, who came in for Khawaja, had scored a century in the first Test against West Indies and was part of a mammoth sixth highest-partnership in Test cricket for Australia with Adam Voges.
Lehman said, “We’ve got a dilemma. We’ve just got to pick the best team to win that particular game. If Usman is in then someone’s got to miss out.”
Smith told to the reporters, “I thought Shaun played beautifully throughout this Test match, he and Voges certainly changed the course of the game.The game was in the balance and those guys put in a terrific partnership and really set the game up for us.”
In the bowling, Josh Hazlewood led the attack with the match figures of 7-78. James Pattinson returned to the Test cricket after almost 18 months and grabbed 5 wickets for just 27 runs in the second innings.
Smith said about his bowling line-up, “I thought the bowlers bowled terrifically again, I thought Josh Hazlewood and (spinner) Nathan Lyon really stepped up in the first innings. In the second innings it was nice to see James Pattinson back to his best and bowling fast. He really wanted to do it today and really enjoy it. I think he bowled beautifully.”
The full squad for the second and third Test is:- Steve Smith (C), David Warner (VC), Joe Burns, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Peter Nevill, Stephen O’Keefe (Sydney only), James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Adam Voges.