Melbourne, Dec 24 (IANS): Australia head coach Andrew McDonald has thrown his support behind top-order batter Usman Khawaja to retain his form in the last two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after an underwhelming start to the series against India.
Khawaja, who turned 38 last Wednesday, has scored just 55 runs across the opening three Tests and has reached 50 in only one of his past 17 innings for the national side. The Australian coach, however, is confident that Khawaja's preparation indicates a sizeable score is imminent, despite his recent struggle for form.
"I think he's fine, Usman's not a concern. Batting in recent times obviously has been quite difficult with a ball-dominating bat. But his method is clear, the way he's been preparing is clear and good players always return to the runs. I'm sure that will be the case over the next couple of Test matches," McDonald told reporters on Tuesday.
McDonald also backed Labuschagne, who ended his poor run of form with an assertive knock of 64 during Australia's ten-wicket victory at the Adelaide Oval, saying he performs at his best when he adopts a proactive approach at the crease.
"We're pretty much on the record about when he (Labuschagne) is at his best, he's showing intent, he's busy at the crease and we saw that in Adelaide. He can be quite annoying at the crease and we want to see an annoying Marnus on Boxing Day," said the head coach.
McDonald admitted that Australia's batting lineup has shown inconsistency in the first three Tests, delivering mixed performances at the crease and placing significant pressure on the team's pacemen.
"Both batting lineups have struggled and I think that's a credit to both bowling lineups. The surfaces have probably also lent themselves to the ball dominating the bat (in this series). That's no different to the previous summers we've had here," McDonald said.
"India's got a dangerous batting lineup but I think there'll be a recalibration somewhere in the next couple of Test matches for both batting lineups," he added.
With the series tied 1-1 after the three Tests, the fourth match is scheduled to take place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 26.