Australia struggle to fill gaping opener hole left by Warner with WTC final looming

Filling the giant shoes of David Warner continues to be a headache for Australia 17 months after the bombastic Test opener retired, with Marnus Labuschagne shaping as the latest contender in the World Test Championship final against South Africa.

Warner pulled stumps on the red-ball game in January last year after 112 Tests and 8,786 runs, long accompanied at the top of the order by Usman Khawaja.

Khawaja will open again in the blockbuster clash at Lord’s starting on June 11, potentially with a fifth different partner since Warner called it quits.

Steve Smith initially plugged the hole, but only lasted four Tests before dropping back down to four and giving Nathan McSweeney a chance.

McSweeney struggled against the Jasprit Bumrah-led India late last year, with gung-ho teenager Sam Konstas then thrust into the limelight in spectacular fashion during the home series.

He scored a blazing 60 with a slew of unorthodox shots on debut, but was less effective in the next Test and was jettisoned in favour of Travis Head for their tour of Sri Lanka this year.

With Head set to revert to five, the chatter is that it’s now a toss-up between Konstas, who has been working on technical aspects of his batting, and Labuschagne to open against the Proteas.

But the experienced Labuschagne has struggled for form at number three and is under threat from Cameron Green, who has been in magnificent touch since returning from back surgery.

Green has plundered three centuries in five county championship matches for Gloucester and is tipped to start at first drop, which could thrust Labuschagne to the top of the Test order for the first time aged 30.

“I have just got a bit of a feeling that Marnus Labuschagne might be pushed up the order to open the batting with Khawaja,” Australia great Ricky Ponting said on the ICC Review.

“I think Green will bat at three and Steve Smith will be at four. Then it’s Travis Head at five.” Since Ponting commented, Australia skipper Pat Cummins has confirmed that Smith will bat at four, but added: “Everyone else, I’m not willing to (say).”

Josh Inglis has not been discounted to open either with chief selector George Bailey insisting the position does not need to be a specialist role.

“I do think it’s a role that more people could do,” he said. Australia could be searching for yet another new opener sooner rather than later with uncertainty over whether 38-year-old Khawaja will continue after the home Ashes series against England beginning later this year. But fellow veteran Smith, 36, shows few signs of slowing down. He has hit four hundreds in his past five Tests and often excels in English conditions.

He starred in Australia’s triumph in the last WTC final in 2023 at the Oval, scoring a first-innings century that helped set the tone for a big win over India.

Smith was also in red-hot form the last time he played a Test at Lord’s, smacking a ton against England while making his second-highest Test score of 215 at the ground in 2015.

“We have got some pretty fond memories at Lord’s and personally I have got some fond memories as well, so we are looking forward to getting started,” Smith told reporters.

Meanwhile, Australian fast bowler Starc is comfortable with his decision to leave the Indian Premier League (IPL) following the India-Pakistan clashes last month regardless of any repercussions, the 35-year-old said.

The IPL was suspended on May 9 in the wake of hostilities between the two. It resumed on May 17 after the nuclear-armed neighbours agreed to a ceasefire.

“I’m comfortable with my decision and how I felt about the whole situation and how it was handled,” Starc told the Sydney Morning Herald on Friday.

“Time will tell with repercussions or how it looks with guys that didn’t return. But I’ve had my questions and concerns leading into that game, and obviously we saw what happened, which played a part in my decision.”

Agencies