Stuart Broad is not impressed by the top three of the current Australian Test XI.
“I can’t see this being the same top three for the Ashes,” Broad said on the Grade Cricketer podcast. “I’m trying not to look that far ahead, particularly with English cricket, but the Aussie selectors generally get it right and they can’t be watching the top three currently in the Caribbean going, ‘That top three is amazing’.”
Since David Warner’s retirement, Australia have used Steve Smith, Nathan McSweeney, Sam Konstas, Travis Head, and Marnus Labuschagne to pair Usman Khawaja at the top. At the 2023-2025 World Test Championship final against South Africa, they promoted Labuschagne to the top and used Cameron Green to fill Labuschagne’s vacant spot at No.3.
Then they dropped Labuschagne and recalled Konstas in the West Indies, but Konstas and Green have both been out of form in the ongoing low-scoring Test series in the West Indies.
“I'm not out of place in thinking it’s the most muddled top three in my lifetime,” continued Broad. “I’ve grown up with [Matthew] Hayden, [Justin] Langer, [Ricky] Ponting, Warner, [Shane] Watson, but I think Usman is struggling. Cameron Green at three ... he’s a six, isn’t he? Five or six.”
Since the start of 2024, the Australian top three average 26.97, a mid-table number that is significantly lower than India’s 40.03, England’s 38.74, South Africa’s 37.61, New Zealand’s 34.52, and Sri Lanka’s 34.35.
However, Broad is optimistic about Konstas: “Konstas is young and learning his way. Those pitches in the Caribbean have been quite tricky, so I imagine he’ll get a run. I watched him net before the World Test Championship at Lord’s where he didn’t play, the crunch off the bat that you hear ... but you get a couple of low scores and you start to question yourself a little bit. But I think he is there to stay.”
