Josh Inglis has replaced Steve Smith in Australia’s XI for the first Test against the West Indies, beginning on June 25.
Australia, who will be without Smith, who is nursing a finger injury, or Marnus Labuschagne, dropped after a string of poor scores, for the first time since December 2018, have named their team for the Test starting on Wednesday. Inglis, who has batted in two Test innings, scoring 102 and 0, takes Smith’s spot at No.4.
Inglis made his Test debut against Sri Lanka earlier this year, slotting in at No.5. He has played a total of 60 first-class games, making 3,1097 runs at 36.74, with eight hundreds and 12 fifties.
Sam Konstas, who made headlines with his aggressive batting against Jasprit Bumrah on his Test debut, makes a return to the XI for the first time since the SCG game in January. Despite impressing in his maiden series, Konstas failed to find a place in the XI as Travis Head opened the batting in Sri Lanka. Labuschagne opened for Australia in the WTC final, but only made 17 and 22, extending his poor form.
He averages 16.16 in Tests in 2025, and is yet to cross 30 in his last seven innings. Labuschagne’s last hundred was in July 2023.
Cameron Green will continue batting at No.3, where he has batted just once in the format - against South Africa at Lord’s in the WTC final. He made four runs in the game.
The bowling will be headlined by the three quicks, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, with Nathan Lyon as the sole spinner.
Australia and the West Indies will play three games in the series, which is a part of the 2025-27 World Test Championship.
Australia’s XI for first West Indies Test
Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
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