Travis Head set to open in first Test against Sri Lanka

Australia have finalised Travis Head as Usman Khawaja's opening partner for the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle. Khawaja was partnered by Nathan McSweeney first and later Sam Konstas during their most-recent Test series against India at home.

"He (Head) did really nicely in India against the new ball. He put spinners under pressure immediately and we know how well he hits the seam as well if they come with that," said Steve Smith a day ahead of the match. "It's going to be good fun watching him."

Smith stopped short of naming the eleven though, preferring to wait and watch the conditions on offer. "We'll wait and see what we get, probably the morning of the game, and then go from there. But things can change pretty quickly, this part of the world, the sun hasn't been out a great deal. So we'll have another look at the wicket, and then from there, we'll name a team at toss," he said.

Smith also confirmed that 19-year-old Sam Konstas might not play, but believes it will be a great experience for him. "He's going to have a lot of practice over here if he doesn't play, which, in itself, is great as well for development. You know, I only have to think back to 2013 I think, where I didn't play the first few tests, and just the amount of balls I was hitting in the nets, and the skills I was able to develop from facing loads of net bowlers and things like that. So whether he plays or not, I think it's going to be a wonderful experience for him. He's going to learn a lot."

Additionally, Smith confirmed that he had recovered well from the elbow injury that he suffered while playing in the Big Bash League. "Fortunately it was all mainly muscle, it settled down pretty quickly. I'm actually batting without tape," he confirmed.

Matthew Kuhnemann, the left-arm spinner, has also passed fit after recovering from an injury. "Apparently the surgeon's done an incredible job for him to be able to field and do some of the things he's been able to do the last couple of days, we're kind of a bit gobsmacked. Either he's a tremendous actor or he's got great pain tolerance. He's ticked all the boxes. He's good to go," said Smith.