Unchanged Aussies ready for pink-ball challenge

Australia have named an unchanged XI for the first time in six Tests, with skipper Tim Paine confirming he will take the same side into the second Domain Test against Pakistan, starting on Friday.

But Australia’s 14-man squad in Adelaide will be reduced to just 12 players on the eve of the match, with James Pattinson and Cameron Bancroft to both be released to their respective states for Marsh Sheffield Shield duty over the weekend, although Queensland swing bowler Michael Neser will remain in the South Australian capital.

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Bancroft stayed with the Aussie squad for the entirety of the first Test at the Gabba last week and the Western Australian acknowledged the introduction of concussion substitutes earlier this year could lead to an evolution in Test selection, where home teams may keep several spare players on hand in case of a head injury.

But with the ICC’s rules allowing for a concussion substitute up to 36 hours after a player is injured, the Australians have decided to release Bancroft to his state with the knowledge he can return should a batsman suffer a concussion during the Test.

"Bangers is a couple of hours away on a plane (in Perth) if something happens, (so) we will be able to get him back pretty quickly," Paine said.

"You’ve got … 36 hours to replace a concussed player so we will have plenty of time to get someone back, whether it be a batter or a bowler.

"I don’t think Nes (Neser) will be batting in our top six (as a concussion substitute). But he is a real handful with a pink ball and if something was to happen (to one of our bowlers), we will know Nes will do a great job."

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While Bancroft will undoubtedly benefit from a return to Shield cricket, his absence could force Australia to play Neser as a specialist batsman in the unlikely situation one of their batsmen suffers a concussion on the final day of the match and leaves no time for the right-hander to make it to Adelaide before play concludes.

One of the grey areas in the new concussion substitute law, which was introduced to international cricket in August, is the requirement that the player coming into a team during a match is a ‘like-for-like’ replacement, whose suitability for the role is at the discretion of the match referee.

This theoretically means a Test side could have up to five players on standby in case of a concussion – a batsman, an allrounder, a fast bowler, a spin bowler and a wicketkeeper.

Bangladesh were exposed by the absence of such planning during their Test against India in Kolkata last week, when two of their players were concussed on the opening day of the match. With no spare batsmen available in their squad, the Tigers were forced to replace their concussed wicketkeeper-batsman Liton Das with specialist spinner Mehidy Hasan, who was allowed to bat but prevented from bowling by the match officials. Although the Bangladesh capital Dhaka is just a 30-minute flight away from Kolkata, the Tigers decided against flying in a replacement batsman from outside the squad.

Speaking before the first Test, Bancroft acknowledged teams and players are still adjusting to the rule change.

"I think that's probably the way the game has had to evolve a little bit," Bancroft said.

"Marnus (Labuschagne) was a great example during the Ashes. He was able to come in and have a really big impact in that game.

"You (need to) be as flexible as you can, and you need resources in your team to be flexible for whatever happens."

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After Australia’s victory by an innings and five runs at the Gabba, which they completed in just four days to give their players an extra day of rest, Paine said he was comfortable picking the same XI despite the short turnaround between matches.

"Obviously we thought we played a pretty good game of cricket last week," he said.

"Our attack is all feeling good and fresh and they all have great pink-ball records, so there is no need to change."

Domain Test Series v Pakistan

Australia squad: Tim Paine (c), Cameron Bancroft, Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner

Pakistan squad: Azhar Ali (c), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Imran Khan Snr, Iftikhar Ahmed, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Musa Khan, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Yasir Shah.

First Test: Australia won by an innings and five runs.

Second Test: November 29 – December 3, Adelaide (d/n) (Seven, Fox & Kayo)