WI vs AUS 2025: Is Konstas back in reckoning after WTC Final debacle? McDonald answers

Australia lost the WTC Final 2025 to South Africa by five wickets, and all returned to the drawing board straightaway. Thanks to a four-day cracker at the Lord’s that ended South Africa's wait for an ICC title, it also exposed issues in the mighty Aussies’ Test team, which now needs reworking before their next Test assignment that starts in ten days in the Caribbean. Bringing back Sam Konstas to the playing XI is the talking point in the dressing room.

The rookie batter made his Test debut against India at the MCG late last year. While his maiden fifty on day one of the Boxing Day Test had the packed crowd at the ‘G’ cheer for him, what made him a bigger star was his approach and stroke play against ace India quick Jasprit Bumrah.
Unfazed by Bumrah’s aura and stature, even considering what he did to them in three matches until then, the right-hander scooped him for boundaries for fun.

Although Konstas' shot selection (on a few occasions) was a bit questionable, McDonald confirmed that Sam was part of the conversation for the WTC Final but missed out on the spot to Marnus Labuschagne.

"He'll be right in the window," McDonald said of Konstas. "He was a big discussion leading into this Test match.

"We need to bed down that opening combination. We've had a bit of musical chairs there, so now might be the time,” the head coach continued.

With the West Indies series just around the corner and the home Ashes a few months down the line, Australia is working on finding the right balance across all facets; however, what this upcoming Caribbean tour has to do with the squad selection for the Ashes opener (in Perth), the coach explains.

"We want to make sure that we are prepared for the Ashes, but does the West Indies have a direct connection to the first Ashes Test match in Perth?" McDonald said. "I'd say it has little. But the people that are on that journey (against the West Indies), I think, are the right people at this stage.
"We've got a nice build-up (to the Ashes).

He also noted that instead of looking at how things pan out on the Caribbean tour, the selectors and the team management will look at the Shield results before sealing spots for the marquee home Ashes.

"The direct connection to the Ashes would potentially be the first few Shield games (rather) than the West Indies, in my opinion. The connection between each series and the surfaces that you play on can be quite different.

"We just don't want to play in spite of the conditions getting ready for the Ashes … but you also want to understand where you're heading, so that can be a tricky balance.

"We're being flexible around our options in the batting order. We've got a group that understands when we're home, it looks a certain way, and when we're away, it can potentially shift,” he continued.