Australia vs Pakistan: Hosts name Travis Head vice-captain with eye on future

Australia named Travis Head named vice-captain with an eye on the future while unveiling their playing XI for the opening Test against Pakistan in Perth on Wednesday. Australia made just one change to the XI that squared off against England in the final Test of this year’s Ashes at The Oval, with leading off-spinner Nathan Lyon returning to the XI in place of Todd Murphy. Lyon needs another four wickets to enter the 500-club, the possibility of which appears highly likely in the upcoming series. Pakistan, too unveiled their combination on the eve of the Test, including two debutants in their lineup. David Warner will open the batting in what is expected to be his last Test series. He is under intense scrutiny after a lean run and questions over whether he deserves to be in the side. Opening partner Usman Khawaja has also been in the spotlight after indicating he planned to wear shoes during the match starting Thursday with messages highlighting the plight of people in Gaza. **Explained: Why Khawaja won’t wear Palestine conflict slogan shoes in Perth Test** That appears unlikely to now happen, with the International Cricket Council banning any messages during matches that relate to politics, religion or race. “I spoke to him just quickly and he said he won’t be,” Cummins told reporters on the eve of the first of three Tests.

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Head returns to vice-captaincy, a role that he had shared with current skipper Pat Cummins under Tim Paine’s leadership. He was named co-vice-captain alongside senior batter Steve Smith in the upcoming Test with Cummins in charge. “He’s been playing for a long time, he’s always been a leader in our group, so we thought it was a good time to formally recognise that,” said Cummins. Adaptability There are no imminent plans for Cummins or 34-year-old Smith to stand down but the skipper said that “Steve is not going to play forever and I dare say I’m not going to captain forever. “So we feel like we’ve got some responsibility to future-proof the team and give opportunities to other leaders.” Pakistan have not won a Test series in the 12 times they have toured Australia.

New skipper Shan Masood is the latest to try and he named two debutants in their starting side, adding pacemen Aamer Jamal and Khurram Shahzad to an attack spearheaded by Shaheen Shah Afridi. Former skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed was picked as first-choice wicketkeeper ahead of Mohammad Rizwan. “As a team we talk about adaptability, whether we play in Canberra, whether we play in Karachi, whether we play in Perth, how quickly can guys adapt to different conditions,” said Masood. “That’s what’s most important for me. Good cricketers are always adaptable.” Australia: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood Pakistan: Shan Masood (capt), Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Aamer Jamal, Khurram Shahzad With inputs from AFP