Both Australia and the West Indies have announced their starting lineups for the series’ first Test match, which is scheduled to start on Wednesday, June 25 at the Kensignton Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados.
Brandon King was given a debut by the West Indies because of his outstanding performances in white-ball internationals.
For the first time since 2021, the powerful batsman Shai Hope has made an incredible comeback to the Test setup. He will bat at number six and take on the role of wicketkeeper. John Campbell, the star opener, also returns to the side. Shamar Joseph, Alzarri Joseph, and Jayden Seales will lead the pace attack, while to bolster the bowling unit, bowling all-rounder Justin Greaves and spinner Jomel Warrican have also been added.
As both countries prepare to start a new ICC World Test Championship cycle for 2025–2027, the recently appointed West Indies captain, Roston Chase, voiced confidence in the chosen combination.
“We want to play with a little more flair and revive the game’s Caribbean flair. All we want is to bring pride to the Caribbean nation. “I just want the fans to be there for the boys no matter what,” Chase stated.
For the opening Test of the three-match series against the West Indies, in which the two teams will play for the Frank Worrell Trophy, the visiting Australian team has also revealed that Josh Inglis and Sam Konstas will start in place of the injured Steve Smith and the benched Marnus Labuschagne. Prior to the start of the series, captain Pat Cummins also disclosed the batting order.
Usman Khawaja and young Konstas, who made his debut against India last year, will open the batting, while Cameron Green will bat at number three. Steven Smith will be replaced as a specialist batsman by Inglis, a handy wicketkeeper-batter, with Travis Head and Beau Webster in the middle order. For the Australians, Alex Carey will put on the gloves. The bowling unit that was employed in the final match against the Proteas will be used by the WTC runners-up.
“It’s okay to come over here with some unknowns; you just need to be quick-witted. The three quicks, in our opinion, are more appropriate for this wicket. Cummins remarked, “I always prefer to have fewer moving parts.”
“That (Green at No. 3) seems like a long-term choice to us. He’s striking the ball and moving extremely well, I believe, going into last week. Clearly, his Test match did not go as planned. The message is not to investigate that too much because it is believed that he only faced three or four balls. We’re quite pleased with his game’s position, and I’m willing to wager that we’ll finish at number three,” he said.
Playing 11s for the West Indies against WI in the first Test match are: Jayden Seales, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, John Campbell, Brandon King, Roston Chase (c), Shai Hope (wicketkeeper), Justin Greaves, Jomel Warrican, and Kraigg Brathwaite.
Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Beau Webster, Pat Cummins (captain), Alex Carey (wicketkeeper), Sam Konstas, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis, Beau Webster, and Usman Khawaja
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