Australia are set to begin an unprecedented 12 months of Test cricket with 20, possibly 21, Tests to be played across four continents between August 2026 and August 2027. Their first assignment comes against Bangladesh at home with the two-Test series starting on August 13 in Darwin, having not played Tests since the Ashes in early January. The selectors are due to announce the first Test squad next week with few surprises expected but there are a number of questions to answer ahead of the series against Bangladesh, with series to follow against South Africa and New Zealand in the coming months.
How settled is the opening combination?
Travis Head and Jake Weatherald look set to remain as the opening combination against Bangladesh following four half-century stands in the Ashes, all of which came at more than 4.62 runs per over. Head's move to the top through an injury to Usman Khawaja proved a revelation as he plundered 629 runs and three centuries at a dazzling strike rate of 87.36, but Weatherald's individual series was not as fruitful, scoring just 201 runs at 22.33.
Weatherald receiving a Cricket Australia central contract in April was a clear indicator that the selectors liked what they saw and that the combination is set to remain. He had a successful six-game stint with Leicestershire in the County Championship including scores of 104 not out, 83, 96 and 61. A score in his birthplace of Darwin would settle any discussion for now but questions will remain heading to South Africa in October if he can't turn a start into a substantial offering.
If Head starts missing out against the new ball, it may also raise questions about the opportunity cost of placing him at the top in the long term given his previous performances at No. 5. But the candidates in the queue behind that pair are a mix of inexperienced talent in Sam Konstas and Campbell Kellaway, and overlooked options in Matt Renshaw, Marcus Harris and Cameron Bancroft. The selectors have been pleased with Renshaw's white-ball performances at international level and his versatility as a red-ball batter could keep him in consideration to fill multiple roles on the various upcoming tours.
How long is Labuschagne's rope now?
Marnus Labuschagne endured a difficult white-ball sojourn to the subcontinent where he was lucky to keep his ODI place after being shifted to No. 7 in Bangladesh to find some form. That followed a middling Ashes series where he made two half-centuries and averaged 28.77 but wasted a number of starts.
The selectors dropped him from the Test side this time last year in hopes of sparking a response and it came in domestic cricket but was not translated back to Tests. His international century drought stands at 72 innings and counting. His Test century drought officially ticks past three years (40 innings) on Sunday. But at 32 he remains pivotal to Australia's line-up with Khawaja having retired and Steven Smith now in his 38th year. As with the openers, the cupboard is not full of domestic run-scorers ready to replace Labuschagne and he has continued to prove a cut above those candidates when he steps back to Sheffield Shield cricket.
However, Nathan McSweeney continues to score runs for Australia A, despite not scoring as many for South Australia although he played well in tough conditions in the Shield final against Scott Boland, while Kurtis Patterson has had two very good summers for NSW. They would seem the obvious places to turn to if patience runs out with Labuschagne but the selectors do not appear close to considering alternatives at present.
Can Green and Webster co-exist in one XI?
The criticism of Cameron Green was fierce during the Ashes and widespread questions remain on his place in the Test side. There does not appear a world where he can play at the expense of Beau Webster in the short term, however it seems equally unlikely that they would not play in the same XI together against Bangladesh and possibly beyond.
Khawaja's retirement leaves a hole at No. 5. Green batted at No. 7 in the last Test in Sydney and Webster at No. 8 with both moving behind Alex Carey, who looks embedded at No. 6 after a fabulous Ashes series. Green moving back up to No. 5, where he batted in the Brisbane Test and produced his best innings of the Ashes and where he averages 57.53 in first-class cricket with four centuries, appears the most logical outcome with Webster sliding up to No. 7 where he has had great success with Tasmania to go with the excellent start to his Test career.
It adds to Australia's bowling options, takes the load off the aging quicks and provides an extraordinary catching cordon with Smith and Labuschagne. That won't appease most of the masses who want Green removed from the XI but given he is the only man under 31 from the Sydney XI, let alone 27 or younger, selectors are highly unlikely to remove him from their plans. The other options to consider for that No. 5 role would be reserve keeper-batter Josh Inglis or Renshaw and it would only be based on their white-ball performances. However, runs will be needed from Green while wickets and better control with the ball will also ease some of the pressure.
Is Lyon fit, how long does he have left, and who are the alternatives?
Nathan Lyon said he is confident of being fit for Darwin on August 13 after his hamstring surgery in December. He is running, lifting heavy weights and bowling. But he turns 39 in November and has suffered severe hamstring and calf injuries in the last three years. His bowling is not going to be an issue. It is understood he is currently producing the shape and revolutions equal to his best and will likely to be able to into his 40s.
But both his severe soft tissue injuries have come in the field running and diving for balls. Australia's outfielding is not as sharp as it was in years past. Lyon is part of that along with a number of others aged 31 or older. There will come a time when the cost of that outweighs the skill and experience those individuals bring.
The risk of injury in game is another consideration for selectors when it comes to Lyon. He bristled at both chair of selectors George Bailey and coach Andrew McDonald suggesting he would need to be managed over the next year. But in the case of both of his soft tissue injuries at Lord's and Adelaide, Australia were left a bowler down and only won thanks to mammoth leads with the bat and the iron will of their quicks.
A spinner will likely be needed in Darwin and Mackay. If it's not Lyon then it will likely be Todd Murphy given he was centrally contracted. But after that against South Africa and New Zealand conditions may allow Australia to go without one as they did three times during the Ashes. Beyond that they will need at least two, if not three in India, which will include Matt Kuhnemann and possibly Corey Rocchiccioli. The Ashes remains an unknown as much for conditions and the style of England's play as anything else.
There is one other alternative if Webster and Green are in the same team over the next 12 months where Cooper Connolly could play as a left-arm orthodox allrounder at No. 8 in conditions that ask for another specialist bat, only three specialist bowlers and three allrounders. But that option almost certainly won't be required against Bangladesh and Connolly's bowling is not yet in a place to handle that following a back injury.
Is Hazlewood a lock ahead of Boland if fit?
This is potentially the most difficult question Australia's selectors have to answer for the Bangladesh series. Josh Hazlewood did not play in the Ashes due to hamstring and Achilles injuries. In four of the last five Australian summers he has broken down in either the first Test of the summer or his first red-ball game of the summer, with 2023-24 the only exception.
Pat Cummins has only played one Test in 12 months, but is the captain and starred in that game, while Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland never get injured and bowled Australia to victory in the Ashes. Like Lyon, Hazlewood's recent injuries in Tests have severely hampered Australia. Hazlewood suffered injuries in the only two Tests Australia didn't win in the 2024-25 series against India with their undermanned attack taking just 26 wickets across those games, albeit weather intervened in one.
Playing Green and Webster in the same team alleviates some of the risk. But the selectors will be cautious in where and how to deploy Hazlewood over the next 12 months and they will be especially wary of picking him cold off a long layoff with no first-class or white-ball cricket to build up into the Bangladesh series.