WTC final may not be Konstas’ route back to Test side

Cliff Notes – WTC final may not be Konstas’ route back to Test side

• Sam Konstas, despite receiving a central contract, may not return to the Australia Test side for the World Test Championship final against South Africa, as selectors prioritise a team tailored for early-season English conditions.
• The selection landscape is competitive, with Cameron Green’s return and strong performances from other players like Josh Inglis and Beau Webster creating potential vacancies in the batting order.

WTC final may not be Konstas’ route back to Test side

Andrew McGlashan

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Andrew McGlashan

Deputy editor, ESPNcricinfoDeputy Editor Andrew arrived at ESPNcricinfo via Manchester and Cape Town, after finding the assistant editor at a weak moment as he watched England’s batting collapse in the Newlands Test. Andrew began his cricket writing as a freelance covering Lancashire during 2004 when they were relegated in the County Championship. In fact, they were top of the table when he began reporting on them but things went dramatically downhill. He likes to let people know that he is a supporter of county cricket, a fact his colleagues will testify to and bemoan in equal quantities.

Alex Malcolm

Apr 1, 2025, 07:27 AM

Sam Konstas may have to wait beyond June’s World Test Championship final to earn back his spot in the Australia side with selectors prepared to pick a team very specific to winning the one-off match against South Africa in relatively early-season English conditions.

Konstas was handed a first central contract on Tuesday after making his debut against India late last year where he shot to prominence with his 60 off 65 balls at the MCG. He did not feature in the following series against Sri Lanka, with selectors using Travis Head as a horses-for-courses opening option, and there is no certainty he will return at the top of the order against South Africa at Lord’s although the contract indicates selectors view him as someone likely to feature prominently over the next 12 months.

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There will be a selection squeeze on positions with Cameron Green likely to be available as a batter, Josh Inglis having made a century on debut in Sri Lanka and Beau Webster, who was also handed his first contract, having slotted in well a No. 6.

Head is expected to return to No. 5 in England, so if it isn’t Konstas, there will be a vacancy at the top of the order.

“The way we’ve sort of viewed the World Test Championships we’ve been involved in is that they are one-off games,” chair of selectors George Bailey said. “They’re quite specific to that, obviously in England in those conditions. So, the way we frame that and potentially look at how we structure up that team may be different to the West Indies tour.

“We’ve got Cam Green returning and hopefully that continues to track well. Along with Sam we’ve also seen Beau Webster, Josh Inglis perform really well when they’ve had opportunities as well. So, we’ll work through that over the coming months.”

After making headlines for a wild innings against Victoria at the SCG on his return from Sri Lanka, where he fell sweeping Scott Boland in the third over, Konstas made two half-centuries to finish the Sheffield Shield season.

Marsh given Test lifeline but bowling future in doubtMitchell Marsh played his part with 39 off 12 AFP/Getty Images

Mitchell Marsh has been offered hope that his Test career isn’t over after he lost his place in January although there are doubts about how much bowling he will do across formats in the future.

Marsh was dropped after making 73 runs in seven innings against India and then missed the Champions Trophy with a back injury. He has returned in the IPL, making 72 and 52 for Lucknow Super Giants, where the impact sub rule has meant he hasn’t yet needed to field. He remains Australia’s T20I captain ahead of next year’s World Cup in India and Sri Lanka with 19 bilateral T20 games on the schedule before that.

“It’s an ongoing conversation as to where bowling may or may not fit into his international cricket going forward,” Bailey said. “I still think he can play an incredibly important role in setting that [T20] team up and hopefully leading that team to some success in the T20 World Cup.

“I think he’s got plenty of one-day cricket left in him as well. I don’t necessarily think that his red-ball career is over as well. I still think there’s an incredibly exciting skill set there with the bat, the way he can rip a game open. If you look ahead to a team like England and the way they play their cricket and the way they seem to be framing up their team, I think he’s got a skill set there that could be helpful as well.”

White-ball opportunities loom for those who missed outSpencer Johnson rattled Pakistan with early blows cricket Australia via Getty Images

There were only a handful of true white-ball specialists in the contract list despite the heavy T20 presence in the next 12 months as well as up-to nine ODI matches as they build towards the 2027 World Cup, with a clear priority placed on Test cricket even though Australia only has two series in the contract period.

Bailey said the likes of Sean Abbott, Aaron Hardie and Cooper Connolly were unlucky to miss out and would likely get opportunities to play during the year. Jake Fraser-McGurk, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David and Spencer Johnson all qualified for contract upgrades last year through playing more than six limited-overs internationals each while Ben Dwarshuis fell one game shy.

All those players could well earn upgrades again before the end of this calendar year given Australia play five T20Is in the Caribbean on the back of four Tests, with several of the three-format players who are also playing in the IPL almost certain be rested. There is also a five-match T20I series against India in early November just prior to the Ashes where those same Test players may be rested even though there is a bigger gap on the schedule next season.

“I think anytime we’ve had a T20 World Cup, and those big years of bunches of games, we’ve used a broad range of players,” Bailey said. “I envisage it’ll probably be similar this year.

“Just depending where a few guys are in terms of their prep for Test cricket there’s every reason to think that there will be opportunities for plenty of players who may be just outside this contract list.”

Morris and Richardson remain long-term investmentsLance Morris took three wickets as Queensland folded Getty Images

There were eyebrows raised when Lance Morris and Jhye Richardson were centrally contracted last year after injury woes. They have been contracted again despite Morris playing just one ODI for the year and Richardson having just one first-class match for the summer in which he injured his shoulder while high-fiving a team-mate.

Morris finished the season by resting from the last Shield game, amid a strong run of form, as he continued to be carefully managed. Richardson will spend the winter rehabbing from a third surgery on his troubled shoulder.

But Bailey said the pair remain in Australia’s long-term Test plans and a central contract means they can be carefully managed by CA’s high-performance staff.

“It’s no secret that the Test bowling group will undergo a little bit of transition, I think, over the next period,” Bailey said. “When we’ve seen them at their best and getting an extended run at red-ball cricket they have pretty exciting skill sets.

“But they’ve both had very different setbacks and some challenges along the way. I think getting your body right to be robust enough to be a consistent candidate for Test cricket is a challenge.

“But we’re invested in that journey. When they are up and going, we like what they can provide. That journey is ongoing, and hopefully both of them can be in the mix for Test positions come this summer.”