The 'tricky balance' as Australia eye Windies, Ashes series

Australia will leave no stone unturned in their search for the best combinations to take on England in the Ashes with coach Andrew McDonald flagging Sheffield Shield cricket as key to the build up to the blockbuster home summer.

A day after letting slip a second consecutive World Test Championship as South Africa completed a stunning comeback at Lord's to claim their first ICC major title, Australia's attention has turned to the next two-year Test cycle as they kick off their campaign in Barbados on June 25.

While that three-Test series against the West Indies will be crucial for Australia to make the early running in their quest for a third straight WTC final appearance in mid-2027, McDonald admitted they also had one eye on preparing for the Ashes in November.

Sam Konstas is likely to be given a crack against the West Indies after narrowly missing selection for the WTC decider as Australia seek to settle the "musical chairs" at the top of their batting order.

"He'll be right in the window," McDonald said of Konstas.

"He was a big discussion leading into this Test match.

"We need to bed down that opening combination. We've had a bit of musical chairs there, so now might be the time."

While McDonald said conditions in the opening few rounds of the Sheffield Shield season would be more akin to what they'll face in the Ashes than what they'll get in the Caribbean, he believes they have the right personnel in the squad to also tackle England.

Konstas and Josh Inglis are right on the fringes desperate for an opportunity, while Scott Boland was the hard luck story of the World Test decider after a sensational home summer against India.

"We want to make sure that we are prepared for the Ashes but does the West Indies have a direct connection to the first Ashes Test match in Perth?" McDonald said.

"I'd say it has little. But the people that are on that journey (against the West Indies), I think, are the right people at this stage.

"We've got a nice build up (to the Ashes).

"The direct connection to the Ashes would potentially be the first few Shield games (rather) than the West Indies, in my opinion.

"The connection between each series and the surfaces that you play on can be quite different.

"We just don't want to play in spite of the conditions getting ready for the Ashes … but you also want to understand where you're heading, so that can be a tricky balance.

"We're being flexible around our options in the batting order. We've got a group that understands when we're home, it looks a certain way and when we're away, it can potentially shift."

After promoting Marnus Labuschagne to open in the WTC final and Cameron Green returning to the side after back surgery at No.3 – both positions they'd never batted before in Test cricket – McDonald knows they've got a problem to solve around what the best order is.

"We're not a perfect team, we haven't been across the journey," he said.

"We've found ways to win and unfortunately, this time (against South Africa), we couldn't conjure that up.

"We're open to the best six batters. We've got a problem to solve around what the best order is, and it'll continue to create debate even when we settle on a top order.

"That's the nature of the Australian cricket team, there's always great debate around selection, around positions, and ultimately it'll keep getting debated until we get the returns that the players expect and that we expect as a coaching staff as well."

Qantas Tour of the West Indies

First Test: June 25-29, Bridgetown, Barbados (midnight AEST)

Second Test: July 3-7, St George's, Grenada (midnight AEST)

Third Test: July 12-16, Kingston, Jamaica (4.30am AEST)

Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster

West Indies Test squad: Roston Chase (c), Jomel Warrican (vc), Kevlon Anderson, Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell, Keacy Carty, Justin Greaves, Shai Hope, Tevin Imlach, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Johann Layne, Mikyle Louis, Anderson Phillip, Jayden Seales

First T20I: July 20, Kingston, Jamaica (July 21, 11am AEST)

Second T20I: July 22, Kingston, Jamaica (July 23, 11am AEST)

Third T20I: July 25, Basseterre, St Kitts (July 26, 9am AEST)

Fourth T20I: July 26, Basseterre, St Kitts (July 27, 9am AEST)

Fifth T20I: July 28, Basseterre, St Kitts (July 29, 9am AEST)

West Indies T20 squad: TBC

Australia's T20 squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Ben Dwarshius, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Matt Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Owen, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa