The coach mentioned that fast bowler Michael Neser and wicket-keeper batsman Cameron Bancroft will not feature in the playing XI for the Gabba Test. He also expressed concern about the batting line-up after Australia A suffered a collapse against Pakistan.
Also see - IND vs WI schedule 2019
The background
Pakistan bundled out Australia A for a mere 122 runs in the three-day practice match ahead of their ICC World Test Championship opener. Imran Khan was the wrecker-in-chief for the visitors as he returned with figures of 5/32.
Azhar Ali’s men had earlier posted a mammoth total of 428 runs on the board in the first innings.
The poor performance of Australia A has left Langer disappointed, and he expressed his feelings during the interview.
The heart of the matter
Speaking to the reporters, Langer confirmed that Bancroft and Neser would be the 12th and the 13th men respectively for the first Test. He said :
The former Australian opening batsman further revealed that Joe Burns will open the innings for the home side along with David Warner.
When asked about Australia A’s performance against Pakistan, the coach said:
Burns did not live up to the expectations in the aforementioned practice match, but he received the backing of Langer. The coach added:
Langer also surmised that it is the inconsistency of the batting unit that has kept the Australian team as low as number 5 in the ICC Test rankings.
What’s next?
The first Test between Australia and Pakistan will begin on 21 November. It will be interesting to see how the opening pair of Burns and Warner fares in this contest.
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