Travis Head expressed confidence on Monday that Australia has the experience to handle their first Test without Steve Smith or Marnus Labuschagne since 2018.

Labuschagne, who has been out of form, has been excluded from the opening Test against the West Indies in Barbados this week, while Smith is sidelined with a finger injury.

Replacing them are Sam Konstas and Josh Inglis, both of whom have only two Tests each under their belts, compared to the combined 175 Tests of Smith and Labuschagne.

Head, however, remained unfazed.

“They (Smith and Labuschagne) are still around the squad, so it still feels similar at the moment in the build-up," he told reporters in the West Indies.

“Getting into the game will be a little bit of a new look, but it’s guys who have already played, guys with experience already in a short amount of Test match cricket."

The last time Australia played a Test without either Smith or Labuschagne was the Boxing Day Test against India in 2018, when Smith was serving a year-long ban for ball-tampering.

Labuschagne has played 53 consecutive Tests, while Smith’s streak stood at 51, according to Cricket Australia.

Konstas is expected to open at Kensington Oval with Usman Khawaja— a role Labuschagne filled in the recent World Test Championship final — with Inglis slotting in anywhere from three to six.

Head, typically batting at number five, said the team is ready for any situation.

“As a batter, you’re planning for anything at the moment, and then once we get a look at the lay of the land, we’ll come up with a plan," he said.

“This is a very experienced team.

“We take a couple of guys out, but I find it a very mature and experienced group that if conditions moved in-game, and we needed to win a game of cricket, I think anyone’s (able) to move around."
Australia will play three Tests against the West Indies, with the first starting in Barbados on Wednesday.