Hobart, Jan 13: Australia captain Pat Cummins said that Travis Head will replace Marcus Harris and Usman Khawaja will open alongside David Warner for the fifth and final Ashes Test in Hobart.
“A decision on the final playing XI will be made after a training session at Blundstone Arena,” said Cricket Australia on Thursday.
Head was ruled out of the Sydney Test after contracting Covid-19 and being forced into isolation in Melbourne following Australia’s series victory.
Khawaja’s twin hundreds last week on his return to Test cricket after a two-and-a-half-year guaranteed him a place in the squad for the final Test against England in Hobart.
Australia are yet to decide bowling unit for the final Test, with Cummins and selectors waiting to see how Scott Boland fares at training as he hurt his ribs in Sydney and underwent a fitness test.
Jhye Richardson is in contention for a return to the side following his impressive show in Adelaide, where he took a five-wicket haul on final-day of the match.
“Scotty’s ribs are the only factor. He’ll give that a go. If he’s not in then Jhye and Michael Neser are both fit,”said Cummins on Thursday.
“Jhye coming off a five-for in the pink ball (means) he’s probably the next one (in) but we’ll have that conversation when we need to.
“It’s a pretty tight turnaround between Tests. We think he (Boland) should be right but he’ll just have another bowl in the nets,” he added.
