Australia head coach Andrew McDonald has expressed concerns about drawing meaningful conclusions from the recent Test series against West Indies, citing the unpredictable nature of the pitches—particularly at Sabina Park—as a key factor. He described some of the conditions as bordering on unplayable, making it hard to fairly assess performances.
“𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒋𝒖𝒅𝒈𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏,” 𝑴𝒄𝑫𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑵𝒆𝒘 𝑩𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒏 𝑺𝑬𝑵 𝑹𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒐.
McDonald also raised doubts about the future of the pink Dukes ball in Test cricket after the third match moved at lightning pace under lights, making conditions extremely challenging.
“𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔, 𝒊𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔.”
Konstas Struggles but Backing Remains
Young opener Sam Konstas had a rough introduction to Test cricket, averaging just 8.33 in the series. He also struggled in the field, notably during West Indies’ shocking 27 all-out innings. Despite that, McDonald believes the experience will benefit the rookie rather than set him back.
“𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆’𝒔 𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝑻𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕,” 𝑴𝒄𝑫𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅. “𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒅𝒐 𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂 𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍 𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆… 𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝑻𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆, 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔.”
Konstas remains in the frame for an opening role in the Ashes opener in Perth, though he will need a strong start to the Sheffield Shield season to bolster his chances. The selectors still back Usman Khawaja for the home series, and the early Shield matches are shaping up as a bat-off for the second opener’s slot.
Labuschagne Eyes Return, Starc to Miss ODIs
Marnus Labuschagne, who was dropped during the Caribbean tour after a dip in form, is also expected to be back in contention soon. He has already shown signs of regaining confidence during training sessions. McDonald suggested that Labuschagne doesn’t necessarily need to open in domestic cricket to earn a spot at the top of the order in the national side.
“𝑯𝒆’𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆,” 𝑴𝒄𝑫𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒅 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑾𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝑺𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑷𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒉.”
Labuschagne’s path back may involve opening the innings, especially with Cameron Green solidifying his role at No. 3. However, Green could also return to the middle order, depending on how the selectors plan their strategy for the home Ashes.
In other updates, McDonald confirmed that Mitchell Starc, like captain Pat Cummins, will be rested for the upcoming white-ball series against South Africa in August, ensuring the bowlers stay fresh for the Test summer ahead.