West Indies and Australia have announced their playing XIs for the first Test of the two-match series, which will begin on Wednesday, January 17 at the Adelaide Oval. While Australia has made two notable alterations to their starting XI, the West Indies have chosen to provide first caps to three of its players.
West Indies' record against the defending World Test champions is dismal. The Caribbean men have not won a Test match against Australia since 2003. Their last victory over Australia occurred in May 2003 at St. John's, Antigua.
One of Australia's two changes will see Steve Smith begin the innings with Usman Khawaja, while the other will see Cameron Green return to the XI after warming the bench for the previous few months.
The Kraigg Brathwaite-led team, on the other hand, has confirmed that middle-order hitters Kavem Hodge, Justin Greaves, and bowler Shamar Joseph will play their debut Test.
A glimpse of captains ahead of an epic clash. ?
— Possible11 (@Possible11team) January 16, 2024
The two-match Test series between Australia and West Indies is set to commence on January 17th.
?: Cricket Australia
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-#Cricket #patcummins #Australia #WestIndies #TestCricket #Adelaide #AUSvWI pic.twitter.com/uiLiZjCCmI
Surprisingly, the Windies haven't won a Test against the Australians in their backyard since the Perth Test in February 1997.
West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Kirk McKenzie, Alick Athanaze, Justin Greaves, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Gudakesh Motie, Kavem Hodge, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Kemar Roach
Australia: Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Mitch Marsh
The new-look team provides Australia with an additional bowling option, which means Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Cummins himself, who all played important roles in the Test series against Pakistan, may be handled.
Greaves, a right-arm seamer from Barbados, has a respectable first-class bowling average of 22.76 and will be relied on more with the bat for the tourists. Hodge, who averages just under 30 in First Class, has been tasked with filling a similar job, but with his left-arm orthodox to supplement Gudakesh Motie.
Shamar Joseph (no connection to fellow teammate Alzarri) has sparked interest after claiming two top-order wickets in their tour appearance last week at Karen Rolton Oval.
The countries will play two Tests as part of the World Test Championship cycle from 2023 to 2025, followed by three ODIs and three T20Is.
Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Alzarri Joseph (vc), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Alick Athanaze, Kavem Hodge, Justin Greaves, Kirk McKenzie, Joshua Da Silva, Akeem Jordan, Shamar Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Kemar Roach, Kevin Sinclair, Tevin Imlach, Zachary McCaskie
Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head (vc), Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc
| Event | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| First Test | January 17-21 | Adelaide |
| Second Test | January 25-29 | Brisbane |
| First ODI | February 2 | Melbourne |
| Second ODI | February 4 | Sydney |
| Third ODI | February 6 | Canberra |
| First T20I | February 9 | Hobart |
| Second T20I | February 11 | Adelaide |
| Third T20I | February 13 | Perth |
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