Australia will sq. off against South Africa for the Boxing Day Test at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) from December 26 onwards. For the identical, Aussie skipper Pat Cummins has named his beginning XI.
Local star Scott Boland has retained his place in the staff with an ‘underdone’ Josh Hazlewood set to overlook one other Test match as he continues to get well from a aspect pressure.
“We gave Joshy (Hazlewood) every chance, (but) it just got to a stage where (he) more than anyone else felt like he was a little bit underdone,” Cummins advised reporters on Christmas morning.
“It’s a mark of the man really, he himself said ‘don’t feel quite right’ so he kind of pulled himself out of selection.
“We talk a lot about how (as) a team we need a squad mentality and I think it’s another great example.”
Australia are presently at the primary place in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) rankings, however they might need to lengthen their lead earlier than heading to India for the four-match collection. After registering a clear sweep over Bangladesh (2-0), India have now moved put to the second spot.
Meanwhile, Dean Elgar’s South Africa will look to bounce again after shedding the Brisbane Test in lower than two days.
Australia’s playing XI for the second Test against South Africa:
David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland.
