Boxing Day Test preview Australia vs India, Travis Head not training, MCG curator on anti-India conspiracy claims, Latest News

Star batsman Travis Head was a rare exception among the Australian squad preparing for a potentially decisive Test in the Border Gavaskar Trophy to opt out of a non-mandatory training session in Melbourne on Monday.

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After back-to-back centuries in Adelaide and Brisbane, the South Australian acknowledged after a rain-marred third Test at the Gabba that it had been a big few weeks but would be fine with the MCG Test.

While senior batters Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja had longer sessions in the nets on Monday afternoon, the in-form South Australian was not spotted in a session that lasted more than two hours.

The 30-year-old, who had a sore quad and moved gingerly while batting in Australia's thrash and bash second innings last Wednesday, has performed excellently so far, scoring 409 runs for the series at an average of 81.2.

After speaking to reporters inside the MCG, potential debutant Sam Konstas and wicketkeeper Alex Carey were in the nets for a session held in conditions that will be completely different to the torrid expected on Boxing Day.

The MCC said extra medical staff will be on site during a day when temperatures could reach 40 degrees Celsius and urged fans to make the most of the free water stations on offer at the ground.

Just the sight of Konstas hitting the nets would have warmed the fans who braved the wind-swept session in wintry conditions on Monday afternoon, where temperatures hovered in the mid to high teens.

Konstas looked good in his cameo and so did Carey, with the pair expected to stay in the nets longer during Tuesday's main training session.

Australian coach Andrew McDonald, who will speak to reporters on Tuesday, spent most of the time in the net nearest the MCG, using a wanger to piffle deliveries off Smith and Labuschagne.

Australia also had two left-arm off-spinners in action in the nets in preparation for Ravindra Jadeja.

Mitch Marsh has hardly bowled since Perth, but did deliver a few balls early in the session on Monday afternoon. In addition to the mandatory session on Tuesday, the Aussies also have a non-mandatory session on Wednesday morning.

Tasmanian all-rounder Beau Webster has been recalled to the Australian squad as a reserve should Marsh be unavailable.

He could well serve as an option for the Sri Lankan tour as he can bowl both medium-pace and off-spin deliveries.

Once you're in this environment, you get a real hunger to stay around, he said.

Sri Lanka is certainly on the map. I'd like to see myself there but I'm not sure what the selectors think.

We know the wickets will turn. I'm just as happy to send out medium pacers for the country where I would also like to do a track with off-spin.

SHAMI OFFICIALLY EXCLUDED

Indian pace bowler Mohammed Shami will definitely have no role in the series as the BCCI medical team has ruled him out of the final two Tests of the series.

The 34-year-old has been playing domestic cricket in recent weeks as part of his recovery from right heel surgery, and was expected to fly to Australia to try to be involved at the back end of the series.

However, his left knee showed mild swelling due to increased joint stress from his bowling workload, Devajit Saikia of the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement on Monday.

Shami played a crucial role in India's historic victory in Australia in 2018/19 with 16 wickets at 26.18 in the four Tests.

The right-armer has regularly formed a formidable new ball pair in Jasprit Bumrah, but India will have to continue to dip into their fast bowling supplies in Melbourne and Sydney.

Based on the current medical assessment, the BCCI Medical Team has determined that his (Shamis) knee needs more time for controlled exposure to bowling loads, Saikia said.

Consequently, he was deemed ineligible to participate in the remaining two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

MCG CURATOR REJECTS ANTI-INDIA CONSPIRACY CLAIM

Amid a tense build-up to the Boxing Day Test, Melbourne Cricket Club curator Matt Page has explained why there is no anti-India bias in the nets offered to both countries.

At least one Indian outlet suggested There was a conspiracy against India after players noted that the courts they were able to train on last weekend were slow with minimal bounce.

But Page said on Monday that India opted not to train on the first day as Test-quality pitches had become available, with a standard procedure of rolling out those pitches three days before the match.

Australia held optional training on Monday afternoon.

For us, we spend three days preparing the trial competition fields for here. When teams come to practice for that, they'll get the pitches we've had, Page told reporters.

Today we stand on new fields. If India had trained this morning, they would have been on those new pitches. It is standard procedure for us for stock, three days out.

The curator promised a jumper throw for the match itself, with Indian duo Akash Deep and Rohit Sharms both hitting while batting on Sunday.

Such blows are common when playing cricket, Akash said.

I think this wicket was for the white ball, and that's why the ball stayed low at times. But these blows often occur during training. There are therefore no major concerns.