Head looms as opening option as Aussies eye SL

National selection chair George Bailey says middle-order x-factor Travis Head is a genuine option to open the batting in Australia's two-Test series in Sri Lanka, beginning January 29. 

A 16-man squad for the tour was announced earlier today, with boom youngster Sam Konstas named for his first overseas foray with the national side off the back of his dashing entry into Test cricket against India in Melbourne and Sydney.

Konstas turned heads in the final two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar series with his ultra-aggressive approach, which was a departure from his batting style to date in Sheffield Shield cricket (his Test strike-rate of 81 far exceeds his overall first-class strike-rate of 54). 

The tactic appeared a direct attempt to throw Indian ace Jasprit Bumrah off his impeccable line and length, and Bailey said the 19-year-old's ability to read a game and a situation augurs well for his potential to thrive in Sri Lanka, where he is yet to play.

"I guess in truth, you never really know (how they'll handle particular conditions) until someone's faced with them," he said. "What we have seen is he's a quick learner. (He) absorbs a lot of information. 

"So (we're) expecting him to get to get a lot out of it. I know from his spin play in Australia, and the opportunities he's (had) in different parts of the world, we think he's got a game that's well suited, and a technique that can stand up.

"But that's one of the exciting things about this tour – we will learn a bit more about his game in different conditions to what he's just faced in Australia."

Head meanwhile is an incumbent opener for Australia on the subcontinent, having filled the role impressively in India in 2023 after an injury in the first Test to David Warner. Through five innings in that series, the left-hander scored 223 runs at 55.75 as an opening bat, while striking at 71.47.

"Trav's an option (to open)," Bailey said. "We've got a number of options and there's been a few preliminary discussions around where that may land, and that may depend on the makeup of that first XI. I think Andrew (McDonald, head coach) and Steve (Smith, captain) will settle on that in due course, once we hit Sri Lanka."

Should Head return to the opening slot, the identity of his replacement in the middle order would then become the hot topic.

Bailey said the national selection panel was impressed with the way McSweeney handled his mid-series axing after a tough introduction to Test cricket as an opening bat against Bumrah in particular.

"We still view (McSweeney) as a great Test prospect, and a long-term Test prospect," he said. "I think at times when someone is left out of a team or squad, there's a view that they fall out of favour, or down the pecking order, but that wasn't the case with Nathan. 

"I think it shows the character … and the sort of person he is, the way he responded and spoke so well about (being dropped) publicly pretty soon after it happened, and jumped straight back into performing for the Heat."

The selection chair added that he saw batting allrounder Connolly fitting in "potentially in that middle order, with a view that he could bowl some handy (left-arm orthodox) overs over there". 

"There's a lot to like," he said. "Technically, we like it. Temperament, we like. Character, we like. And clearly skill set, there's a lot to like there as well. 

"I guess on the first-class front (where he has played just four matches), there's not a great deal of games behind him … but he's been around the one-day group, and we have in the past used that as a stepping stone to see a player a bit more, find out a bit more about the way they play.

"He was picked in the Australia A game at the start of the (summer) against India, and then joined the one-day group after that. So he's someone that we've had our eye on for a period of time, and like what we're seeing.

"I've talked in the past about his left arm spin, and our desire to continue investing in that and seeing where that goes. But certainly, I think his actual batting skill set is suited to the middle order."

Back-up gloveman and regular Test squad member Josh Inglis looms as another option should that five or six spot be freed up, though one player who looks certain to occupy one of those positions is giant Tasmania allrounder Beau Webster after his dream debut in Sydney.

Webster's part-time off-spin isn't being viewed as a factor in his inclusion, Bailey pointed out, but the medium pacer looms as a strong support option for a likely two-man pace attack of Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland. 

Skipper Pat Cummins will miss the tour on paternity leave while he is also nursing an ankle injury; Bailey said they were awaiting scan results to determine his potential availability for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan and the UAE. 

The squad for that one-day tournament is set to be announced in the coming days, while looking further ahead, Bailey also revealed that selectors hoped to have allrounder Cameron Green – who is currently rehabbing from back surgery – available as a batter for the World Test Championship final in June. 

Australia's Test squad is set to depart next week for a pre-Sri Lanka training camp in Dubai.