MELBOURNE (Reuters) – The Australian cricket team confirmed their new batting line-up for the upcoming test match against West Indies on Tuesday. It was announced that Steve Smith will open the batting and Cameron Green will bat at number four in the team’s line-up for the first test at Adelaide Oval starting from Wednesday.
Smith, who is regarded as one of the best batsmen of his generation, was chosen as a late replacement for David Warner, who retired from the format after Australia’s series against Pakistan earlier in the year.
Green, a 24-year-old, has been a prolific run-scorer for Western Australia and will be playing his 25th test in the upcoming match.
“We were pretty open that we thought Cam Green was in our top six batters and really all there was to iron out was the details around the order,” said captain Cummins.
“It wasn’t until around then that we started chatting seriously to (Smith) and found out just how keen he was …”
“It all made sense to get Smithy into a position that he’d love to bat in, and Green into a spot (he) knows pretty well.”
The Australian team also includes all-rounders Green and Mitch Marsh, providing captain Cummins with plenty of bowling options.
West Indies, on the other hand, are without their best all-rounders Jason Holder and Kyle Mayers, who have opted to play in lucrative Twenty20 leagues instead of the test match.
West Indies’ skipper Kraigg Brathwaite confirmed that Kavem Hodge and all-rounder Justin Greaves would make their test debuts in the middle order, with quick Shamar Joseph also winning his first cap.
“I’m expecting a lot of fight from the guys, obviously guys relatively new to test cricket and they’ve got to show the world their worth,” said Brathwaite.
West Indies have not won a test match in Australia in 16 matches, with their last victory dating back to 1997 in Perth. The first test this year is followed by a pink ball test in Brisbane starting on Jan. 25.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Peter Rutherford)
