AUS vs PAK, 1st Test: Travis Head Appointed Vice-Captain As Australia Reveal XI For Perth Test; Nathan Lyon Makes Comeback

AUS vs PAK, 1st Test: Travis Head has been rewarded with the role of Vice-Captaincy ahead of the first Test match against Pakistan, thanks to his brilliant run of form in the white ball cricket.

Australia announced their playing XI for the Perth Test match, scheduled to begin on December 14. Captain Pat Cummins confirmed the expected XI for the first Test, making only one change from the recent Ashes finale, with Nathan Lyon replacing Todd Murphy.

 

Australia Playing XI:

 

Australia XI: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

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Australia have reinstated Travis Head as the Test vice-captain alongside Steve Smith for the upcoming series against Pakistan. Head's reappointment follows his recent match-winning performance in the World Cup Final and Semi Final, contributing to Australia's sixth title win.

Head had a brilliant outing in the World Test Championship (WTC) final as well. He scored a match-winning knock of 163 runs in the first innings, helping Australia to their maiden WTC title.

While Head and Smith share the vice-captaincy, Smith remains the primary option to lead the team in Cummins' absence.

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The pace bowling trio of Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood, instrumental in Australia's World Cup success, will reunite for the Test series. Amid discussions and doubts surrounding David Warner's place in the team, the veteran opener will continue to partner Usman Khwaja in the batting lineup. The 37-year-old opener is expected to retire after the final match of this series in Sydney.

Nathan Lyon returns to the side, recovering from injury, and replaces Todd Murphy in the squad. The experienced off-spinner will play a crucial role in the Test series against Pakistan. Having played 122 test matches, Lyon is just four wickets shy of touching the 500 wickets milestone.

The home favourite Mitchell Marsh will play in front of his home crowd at Perth Stadium for the first time in a Test match. The 32-year-old allrounder retains his position over Cameron Green, solidifying his role in the team after competing with his state teammate during the Ashes.

The schedule for the Test series against Pakistan is as follows:

First Test: December 14-18, Perth Stadium (7:50 am IST)

Second Test: December 26-30, MCG (5 am IST)

Third Test: January 3-7, SCG (5 am IST)

 

Squads: 

 

Australia squad: (first Test only) Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Lance Morris, Steve Smith, Mitch Starc, David Warner

Pakistan squad: Shan Masood (c), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi