BGT: Head Declared Fit for Play, Boland Rejoins Australia XI for Boxing Day Test
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Melbourne, Dec 25 (NationPress) Travis Head has received medical clearance to participate as fast bowler Scott Boland makes his comeback to Australia's lineup for the Boxing Day Test against India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
Captain Pat Cummins confirmed that Australia would implement two adjustments for the fourth Test in Melbourne, with Sam Konstas set to make his debut and Boland stepping in for the sidelined Josh Hazlewood.
Regarding Head, who sustained a quad strain during the Brisbane Test, Cummins stated that the left-handed batsman successfully met all criteria during the rigorous fitness evaluation and was ultimately declared fit for the fourth Test in the five-match series, currently tied at 1-1.
"Trav's good to go, he'll play. He just ticked off some final things today and yesterday. But no worries about injury with Trav. He'll go into the game fully fit," Cummins informed reporters. "I don't think you'll see too much management of him throughout the game. He just kind of plays as is. Maybe around fielding, if he's a bit uncomfortable, we will (manage him), but he's fully fit."
In the meantime, Konstas will take the place of Nathan McSweeney, who was dropped from the squad following a series of low scores.
Konstas will become Australia’s youngest opener in history, and it is believed that the age difference with fellow opener Usman Khawaja is the largest between opening partners in Test history.
"There’s a level of naivety that you just want to go out and play like you do when you’re a kid in the backyard. You just want to take the game on, have fun, and not overthink it.
"That’s the message to Sam. That’s definitely how I felt as an 18-year-old. I was just really excited, and once the game started, you go into game-mode and it’s just like any other game," Cummins added.
On the contrary, Boland returns to the series after the second Test in Adelaide, where he took 5 wickets, and will fill in for the injured Hazlewood, who has been ruled out of the series due to a calf injury.
"He bowled beautifully in Adelaide. Whenever he gets his chance, he steps in and looks like he’s one of the best bowlers in the world," Cummins remarked regarding Boland.
"I expect him to perform similarly. He loves bowling here, he’s played probably more than anyone else on our team at the MCG. He’s prepared really well. It is pretty awesome that even with an unfortunate injury like Josh has, you can have someone like Scotty come straight in seamlessly," he continued.
Australia XI: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (C), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland
