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In their last two Test matches across continents this June, the new Australian top-order has struggled massively, allowing the opposition to dictate terms with the ball in the early phase of the innings. Amid that, Australian head coach Andrew McDonald wants patience at all levels, giving his backing to the new players introduced in the top-order during their ongoing three-match Test series against West Indies in the Caribbean just after losing the World Test Championship (WTC) final to South Africa at Lord’s in London.
During the WTC final, Australia shifted Marnus Labuschagne to open the batting with Usman Khawaja, while drafting in young all-rounder Cameron Green at number three, but these three batters failed to make an impact. The first Test of the three-match series against West Indies at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, saw Australian selectors drop Marnus Labuschagne from the playing XI, re-introducing teenager Sam Konstas as the opener alongside Usman Khawaja.
Josh Inglis took the place of injured Steve Smith at number four for Australia against West Indies in 1st Test
While the veteran Khawaja scored 47 and 15 in the contest, doing well in tough batting conditions against the new Dukes ball, his opening partner Sam Konstas could only score 3 and 5, struggling to find optimum balance between defence and attack. Cameron Green had another poor Test match at number three, while Josh Inglis, who replaced injured Steve Smith at number four, got out trying to force the issue.
In his recent interview, the Australian head coach addressed the concerns around the top-order in Test cricket, and said, as per Cricbuzz, “When you start your career, it takes you a while to get to the level and it requires patience on all levels, that comes from coaching and external and internal. These guys are on a journey. They're starting it out and some people get there faster than others...”
As far as the struggles of Sam Konstas, he remarked, “He's (Sam Konstas) debriefing that and we've had some conversations around, if you're in that situation again, what does that look like? And that's what experience is; it's learning from previous events and trying to implement a way through that…. It felt like he was stuck at times. It was over-aggressive and then underplayed and it's really that balance and tempo....”
