`It might be the time…`: Andrew McDonald on changes in Australia`s top-order

Following the loss against South Africa in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, Australia`s head coach, Andrew McDonald, stated that there will be changes in the side`s top order.

After the retirement of David Warner, several players tried their luck to fill the opener`s spot, but fell short in filling the gap.

Ahead of the WTC final, Marnus Labuschagne was the hot topic in the build-up for the title clash, which the `Baggy Greens` lost by five wickets.

Speaking on the opener`s slot, head coach McDonald said, “It was a big discussion leading into this Test match, and I was on the record a couple of weeks ago talking about the need to bed down that opening combination. We`ve had a bit of musical chairs there, so it might be the time”.

Later, the question arose about Usman Khawaja, who failed to deliver performances in both innings of the WTC final. McDonald said that he doesn`t see the end date for Khawaja, considering his preparations.

“He`s on contract, he`s an important player. He gives us stability at his best at the top. And we like to look at our players at their best. No doubt, a couple of failures here and people then start to talk about maybe it`s the end. I don`t see an end date with the way he`s training, the way he`s preparing, the way he`s moving. He went back to Shield cricket, got 100 last [season]. So I think he`s got plenty of runs left in him,” the 44-year-old told ESPNCricinfo.

Despite failure at the top in the WTC final, the head coach feels that Usman Khawaja still has a big part to play.

“It`ll come down to his inner drive and the way he prepares. It was a bit the same with Davey as well. The way he moved, we saw some positives in that. We knew that the runs were around the corner. We feel as though Usman`s got a big part to play,” said the veteran of four Test matches.

Coming to Labuschagne`s feature in the team, the 30-year-old could only cement his place if Steve Smith doesn`t recover in time. Smith suffered a finger injury while fielding at the slips in the Lord`s encounter.

On the other hand, ahead of the West Indies series, Sam Konstas is pushing his case for the opener`s spot.

(With ANI Inputs)

This article first appeared on Mid Day