“It’s funny what years you kind of bookmark. I remember 2019 was a huge year. Then I was thinking after that, OK 2023 we’ve got the same huge year, a World Cup and an Ashes, plus an India tour. I think it sounds like 2027 is the next big one. That seems forever away now.”
With those words, Australia’s captain Pat Cummins earmarked 2027 as the next big signpost in the story of the national team.
Leadership handover: Pat Cummins and Travis Head.Credit: AP
As Cummins pointed out, planning for a year similarly big and eventful as 2023 needs to start well in advance.
In 2019, it was clear that the team would be of similar personnel four years later. But this time around, the regeneration of the Test side in particular is starting to become the key topic following David Warner’s retirement and the prospect of more to come.
This masthead has consulted with a wide range of key figures in Australian cricket – selectors, coaches, talent spotters and players – to look ahead to what the Test team might look like in 2027, when tours of India and England will again be undertaken around a World Cup campaign.
A prospective XI has been chosen, plus a wider squad, and also a new captain and coach, given the fact that Andrew McDonald’s contract is due to expire in 2026, and that Cummins has made it clear he intends to step down about the same time.
Which members of the current Test team and squad will still be there? Travis Head, almost certainly as captain. Marnus Labuschagne the seasoned number three. Cameron Green now among the world’s leading players at number four. Cummins, no longer skipper but still the spearhead of the attack. And the ageless Nathan Lyon, clinging to his promise to go back to India and England for one more crack.
Mission 2027: What the Australian Test side will look like in a new era
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19.01.2024
“It’s funny what years you kind of bookmark. I remember 2019 was a huge year. Then I was thinking after that, OK 2023 we’ve got the same huge year, a World Cup and an Ashes, plus an India tour. I think it sounds like 2027 is the next big one. That seems forever away now.”
With those words, Australia’s captain Pat Cummins earmarked 2027 as the next big signpost in the story of the national team.
Leadership handover: Pat Cummins........
© The Sydney Morning Herald
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