Travis Head to replace Sam Konstas as Australia opener for first Sri Lanka Test
Travis Head to replace Sam Konstas as Australia opener for first Sri Lanka Test
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Travis Head will replace Sam Konstas at the top of Australia’s batting order for the first Sri Lanka Test despite the teenager’s heroics in the triumphant India series. Stand-in captain Steve Smith would not rule out finding a place for Konstas elsewhere in the order for the match that begins in Galle on Wednesday, with a vacancy now open at No 5.
![[Sam Konstas attends a practice session at the Galle International Cricket Stadium.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/3dc22cc48b03e44198876931ecc340917706b40e/0_0_5732_3821/master/5732.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Konstas impressed in his first two Tests to help Australia reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in a decade. But Head’s supreme efforts as an opener on the previous subcontinent tour in 2023 were enough to win him the spot next to Usman Khawaja. Head averaged 55.75 runs across two-and-a-half Tests replacing David Warner on that India tour, two years ago.
“He did really nicely in India against the new ball. He put spinners under pressure immediately and we know how well he hits the seam as well if they come with that,” Smith said. “It’s going to be good fun watching him.”. Konstas’s inexperience appears to have worked against him in the selection conversation, with the 19-year-old embarking on his first subcontinent tour. Smith said Australia would have to select its XI with the conditions in mind.
“Just playing what’s in front of us, it’s quite different to back home on the surfaces we’ve been playing on there where it’s very pace dominant,” he said. “We’d imagine this is going to be quite spin dominant.”. Specialist opener Konstas, Nathan McSweeney, Cooper Connolly and Josh Inglis appear to be fighting it out for the middle-order vacancy created by Head’s promotion.
