Australia head coach Andrew McDonald has hinted that replacing David Warner may not come down to a straight like-for-like opening batter with a suggestion the order could be reshuffled to accommodate Cameron Green. Green lost his place for the final Ashes Test at The Oval and is expected to remain outside the XI when the Pakistan series starts next month, but McDonald reinforced that he remains a "generational" talent and there is a belief he won't be out of the side for long. Providing injuries don't crop up during the Pakistan series -- and there remain some question marks over the workload on Mitchell Marsh's body -- the first vacancy could arrive following Warner's Test retirement which he has earmarked for the SCG Test in early January. It has been widely assumed that his replacement would come from one of Cameron Bancroft, Marcus Harris or Matt Renshaw, but McDonald referenced previous occasions when an Australia top order has been reshaped with players taking on new roles.

"What does Cam Green's future look like in the Test team? Is it a matter of waiting for Mitch to finish or could there be another spot that opens up over time?" McDonald told SEN radio. "He has batted at six for most of his Test cricket, but he has been a fantastic number four for WA and averages close to 50 in Shield cricket. "There is always the idea that you can potentially shift the order to make room to put your best six batters, or what you see as best six batters, in a certain order." If there was to be a batter moved into a new position for the series against West Indies in January the potential - and simplest - option would be for Marnus Labuschagne to move up one spot, followed by Steven Smith returning to No. 3. A more left-field route could be a promotion for Travis Head although he is so destructive at No. 5 there will likely be reluctance to that.

"We have seen that in Australian cricket before," McDonald said. "David Boon went from three to opening. Justin Langer went from three to opening. Shane Watson went from six to opening. "There has been the ability to reshuffle and for that to be successful. But we will leave that to the first Test match in Perth." Warner is expected to be given his farewell Test series against Pakistan although his selection still needs to be ticked off with the squad likely to be named early next week. Test captain Pat Cummins, who is not a selector, praised Warner as a multiformat great when asked if he deserved a swansong series but added that performance remained highest in the selection criteria. Since 2021, Warner has averaged 28.90 in Tests with one century - the MCG double hundred last season in his 100th appearance.

 Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)