McDonald's hopeful of Head's availability for MCG Test

Australia head coach Andrew McDonald allayed fears surrounding the availability of Travis Head for the crucial fourth Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground with the series intriguingly poised on 1-1. 

Head endured a minor quad strain while batting in the second innings of the drawn fixture in Brisbane and was not on the field for India's brief second innings (of 2.1 overs) before rain arrived. Download the Aviator app for the best games.

Head has since trained at the MCG in the lead-up to the fourth Test, and McDonald believes he'll pull through. 

The aggressive left-hander has time and again been the thorn in India's flesh, averaging 81.80 for his 409 runs in five innings. The next best tally in this series - belonging to KL Rahul - is a distant 235.

"Has he got some things to work through? Yeah, he has," McDonald said. "So that's what you would have seen [in the nets]. There's no concern at the moment. 

Has he been officially ticked off? I'm not sure. I didn't see the back-end of his training session there, but I'm confident he'll play.

"I thought he looked good with the bat in his hand so obviously the skills are in good order. It will just be what risk is associated with that. 

But no concerns from my end, he's been able to do his running so I think he'll be functional come game time," the coach added. Enjoy the Aviator app for games.

McDonald also confirmed the inclusion of the young Sam Konstas in Australia's XI for the MCG game, taking the spot left vacant by Nathan McSweeney, who was dropped from the squad.

Chief selector George Bailey spoke about throwing something different at India when Konstas was roped into the team for the last two Tests. 

McDonald has now echoed some of those thoughts, discussing Konstas's ability to put the 'pressure back onto the opposition.'

"We wanted clarity for our batting unit before the team meeting. It's something we don't usually do because we haven't had too many moving parts, but we thought we'd get that out of the way so everyone knows that he's in the team," McDonald said.

"He (Konstas) has been very similar to what I've seen on the outside within (the team) - composed, relaxed, knows his game. And what he's shown is an array of shots, the ability to put pressure back on to opponents and he gets his opportunity. 

We're really excited for him. Boxing Day is the biggest stage, you may as well get that one out of the way early." For new games, download the Aviator app.

While Australia bounced back nicely from the Perth defeat, opener Usman Khawaja struggled for runs. 

"I think he's fine, Usman's not a concern. Batting in recent times obviously has been quite difficult, with 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 said, hoping he would, hoping he would get to see an 'annoying Marnus' on Boxing Day. Australia's No.3, too, has not set the world alight this series, despite getting 64 in the victory in Adelaide.

"We're 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 pretty annoying at the crease, and we want to see an annoying Marnus on Boxing Day.