On Wednesday, December 25, the Australia national cricket team officially revealed its playing XI for the fourth Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
The fourth Test match of the five-match series between the Indian national cricket team and the Australian national cricket team is scheduled to be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground from December 26.
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BGT currently stands at 1-1
The ongoing series between India and Australia is currently tied 1-1. The Indian national cricket team began its campaign in Australia with a dominant 295-run win in Perth under the leadership of Jasprit Bumrah.
Pat Cummins & Co., meanwhile, bounced back strongly in the second game, which was a pink-ball Test in Adelaide. They thrashed the Rohit Sharma-led team to achieve a 10-wicket victory.
The third Test match was held in Brisbane and the Australians showed absolute dominance with both bat and ball. However, the rain played a spoilsport role and the match ended in a draw, denying Australia the victory.
Trav is ready, he will play – Pat Cummins
There were doubts over Travis Head’s participation in the fourth Test after the batsman suffered a minor quadriceps strain in Brisbane.
However, Pat Cummins confirmed that the left-handed batsman has passed the fitness test and is ready to go. He elaborated:
“Trav is ready, he will play. He just scored some final things today and yesterday. But don’t worry about injuries with Trav. He will come into the game in top shape. I don’t think you will see that too.” A lot of handling of him throughout the game. Just play as is. Maybe on the pitch, if he feels a little bit uncomfortable, we’ll handle it, but he’s completely fit.
“It feels like the last 12 months he’s been in this incredible form and he continues that way. He’s hitting the ball very cleanly. You can see the pressure he transfers to the opponent literally from the first ball he comes out there.”
Pat Cummins added that they are lucky to have a player of Head’s caliber in their lineup because bowling for him is quite difficult at the moment due to his excellent form. He said:
“I love that he’s on our team and I don’t have to try to field him and bowl to him. He’s hitting the ball as well as I’ve ever seen anyone. Long may this continue.”
You just want to keep playing, have fun and not think too much: Pat Cummins’ revealed message to Sam Konstas
Sam Konstas, 19, will make his Test debut in Melbourne and open the innings with Usman Khawaja. Pat Cummins, who made his debut at the age of 18, said the message to the teenager is to have fun without thinking too much. The Australian captain explained:
“There’s a level of naivety where you just want to go out and play like you do when you’re a kid in the backyard. You just want to keep playing, have fun and not think about it too much.
“That’s the message to Sam. That’s definitely how I felt when I was 18. I was really excited, and once the game started, you go into game mode and it’s like any other game.”
Pat Cummins further praised Scott Boland, who will replace Josh Hazlewood in the XI after the latter was ruled out of the series through injury. Cummins said Boland is one of the best bowlers in the world and Australia is lucky to have him as a backup pacer. He said:
“He played wonderfully in Adelaide. Every chance he gets he steps in and looks like one of the best bowlers in the world. I hope he (does) pretty much the same. He loves bowling here, he’s probably bowled more Anyone else here at the MCG in our team is very well prepared.”
Australia XI for the 4th Test:
Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (C), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland