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Australia's Chief Selector, George Bailey, is hopeful that Steve Smith's elevation to the opening slot will extend the 34-year-old's career.
Australia named a 13-player squad for their upcoming home series against the West Indies, which will kick off on January 17 at the Adelaide Oval. Australia will enter the Test without the presence of David Warner after he retired from red-ball cricket following the conclusion of the three-match Test series against Pakistan. With Warner's role being filled by Smith, Bailey revealed the reason for promoting the veteran batter to the top order was to bring Cameron Green back into the middle order without changing much of the setup. With Smith moving to the top spot, Green will play at the vacant number four spot. However, the decision was made in consultation with coach Andrew McDonald and Test skipper Pat Cummins, who had the final say in the decision. "For all intents and purposes, this is where Steve wants to stay. One of the things I'm really excited about the change is that I think he's really motivated and energised and excited about the opportunity, and fingers crossed that can provide some longevity in the format. For someone who has achieved as much as he has over such a long period of time across all formats, it's a challenge or an itch he'd like to scratch and ultimately for us, as a team, it's something that fits," Bailey told reporters, as quoted from cricket.com.au. "It's selfless that someone who's had such success in one position or a couple of positions in the middle order, that he's willing and hungry to have a crack at something different. And it provides an opportunity to slot Greeny into number four where he's had success for Western Australia. The regard in which we hold Cameron and the way the rest of that batting order is functioning left us feeling we have someone we think is pretty talented who was potentially going to find it pretty hard to get any Test cricket in the next 12 months or so," Bailey added. Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc. (ANI)
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