Ten months following David Warner’s Test retirement, Australia is nowhere near closer to finding a replacement.

The one selection mystery ahead of this summer’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy remains the identity of Usman Khawaja’s opening partner, a storyline that dominated the back page of newspapers last summer.

Ahead of January’s Frank Worrell Trophy, Steve Smith was elevated to opener to make room for Cameron Green in the middle order, allowing for the nation’s six best batters to fit in the same starting XI.

But four Test matches later, there are rumblings of another change to Australia’s batting order ahead of the highly-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which gets underway in Perth next month.

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Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh and Green have each expressed reluctance when asked about the prospect of opening, while the back injury Green sustained in the United Kingdom last month created further intrigue about the Test side’s make-up.

The first couple of rounds of Sheffield Shield action, which starts Tuesday, could provide a clue for the national selectors’ intentions; the state coaches have shown they’re willing to adjust their starting XI to help prepare Australia’s Test stars for the home summer. If Smith opened the batting for the Blues this month, for example, it would suggest he’s a decent chance to face the new ball against India.

Regardless, the prevailing sentiment is that if national selectors don’t bring in a specialist opener for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, a sacrificial lamb within the team will need to slide up the order to face the new ball.

STEVE SMITH

Despite being Australia’s incumbent Test opener, it appears increasingly unlikely that Steve Smith will face the new ball against India next summer.

The New South Welshman enthusiastically pushed his case to replace Warner at the top of the order last summer, which in turn accommodated Green’s return to the Test side. Two birds, one stone.

Smith, who had never opened before at first-class level, cracked an unbeaten 91 against the West Indies in the pink-ball Test at the Gabba, albeit in a losing cause. However, sceptics remained after the right-hander registered scores of 31, 0, 11 and 9 during the Test tour of New Zealand, trapped LBW in both innings in Christchurch.

When questioned about what role he’d play in the Test side this summer, Smith seemed less enthusiastic about the prospect of opening the batting.

“I’m comfortable batting wherever,” Smith told Fox Cricket in August.

“We’ll see what that looks like, I suppose, whether they want me to continue (opening) or go back to three or four. We’ll wait and see.

“I’m pretty easy batting anywhere. We’ll just see what stacks up and what the brain trust wants.”

Smith boasts a superb record at No. 4 in Tests, accumulating 5966 runs at 61.50 with 19 centuries; it’s why opening partner Usman Khawaja would prefer to see his former captain return to second drop his summer.

“Opening is a very important spot … (but) I still think we have the best Test player of my era in the side, in Steve Smith, and his best spot has been number four,” Khawaja told Fox Cricket last month.

“I feel like that’s his best spot.”

Former Australian representative Simon Katich, who successfully transitioned from a middle-order batter to a Test opener, believes Smith deserves another chance at the top of the order.

“It’s still very early in Smith’s opening career,” Katich told the Cricket Et Al podcast last month.

“He’s only done it in New Zealand and a couple of Tests against the West Indies. It can take time to adjust. Like any challenge, once you do it more often and you get used to it, you come up with a game plan as to how you’re going to go about it and I think he’s probably still working through that.

“I’d back him to be able to overcome that challenge and I think he’s experienced enough and good enough to problem solve as we all know.”

MARNUS LABUSCHAGNE

The prospect of Marnus Labuschagne opening the batting in Tests feels less jarring than other options because the transition from No. 3 to opener isn’t as drastic.

The Queenslander, who has occupied the No. 3 spot in the Test side for over five years, is more than capable of facing the swinging ball, walking out to bat with Australia yet to score a run on eight occasions.

He has opened the batting 15 times at first-class level with an average of 34.86, notching a century for Glamorgan in the County Championship in May.

“(Labuschagne) has got the skill set to do it. For the team as well, they’ll be thinking about what’s the right set-up for the side,” former England batter Ian Bell said last year.

“He’s been so successful, his numbers are incredible, certainly in Australia as well in the role he plays. There’s no doubt he could do it.”

Despite a form slump over the past 18 months, Labuschagne has been Australia’s most consistent No. 3 Test batter since Ricky Ponting, averaging 51.78 including 11 centuries at first drop.

However, his elevation would prompt another rejig in the middle order with Smith out of position at first drop; moving Labuschagne to opener solves a problem while creating two new ones.

TRAVIS HEAD

Following his recent success in the white-ball arena, Head has emerged as a leading candidate to bat alongside Khawaja in the Test arena this summer, following in the footsteps of Warner by opening in all three formats.

Shifting the South Australian up to open would allow Smith to return to his preferred No. 4 position, but national selectors may be reluctant to part ways with his counterattacking style in the middle order.

“Head is at the front line of that queue even though he doesn’t really want to be,” News Corp reporter Robert Craddock told SEN Whateley last month.

“I don’t think he sees himself as an opening bat in Test cricket.

“There is a bit of a cushion if he fails because it wasn’t his plan, he never volunteered to go there. So if he fails, he has the rider of saying, ‘Hey, I was going perfectly fine down the order, by the way’.

“He’s the outstanding favourite for the position at the moment.”

Head has opened the batting before at Test level, albeit only for three matches during last year’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy campaign in India after Warner suffered a hand injury. During a series where most of Australia’s batters struggled for consistency, he notched 223 runs at 55.75 in five knocks, while he’s expected to return to that position for next year’s Test tour of Sri Lanka.

The left-hander confessed he enjoyed opening the batting on India’s turning decks last year as it allowed him to settle into his innings against the quicks.

“For me, it’s wherever we line up best as a team,” Head told Fox Cricket when asked about the proposition of opening in Sri Lanka next year.

“I’m happy where I’m at.

“It seemed to work, being a bit more aggressive at the top, it felt like I got myself into the game, which was nice in those conditions, facing fast bowling first.

“It depends on the team’s situation … whatever combination we throw out, it won’t affect how the team runs.”

Meanwhile, there have been lingering concerns about Head’s vulnerability to short-pitched bowling, which could be exposed against the new ball on Australia’s fast decks.

“(India) will bounce the crap out of him,” Australian cricket legend Allan Border told News Corp last week.

“He does not play the short ball as well as some others. He doesn’t duck.”

Regardless, Khawaja has thrown his support behind Head opening the batting this summer, declaring he was the best option in Australia’s current starting XI.

“I feel like Travis Head might be best suited,” Khawaja told Fox Cricket last month.

“He’s obviously been very successful opening the batting in one-day cricket and, breaking it down, I’d probably lean towards him.

“The confidence transfers over. When you’re seeing the ball well, scoring lots of runs and not much is going through your head, it’s a great place to be.”

Following the first ODI against England at Trent Bridge, Head confirmed he was aware of the brewing speculation about his role in the Test side.

“Keep the chatter, it makes it interesting,” Head smirked during the post-match press conference.

“I’m not going to dive into that. I’ll just let that play out.”

CAMERON GREEN

Heading into the previous Test summer, Green was considered a genuine option to replace Warner when the veteran opener hung up the boots.

There wasn’t any room for Green in the Test side’s middle order following Mitchell Marsh’s remarkable Headingley century during the Ashes, but national selectors were eager to find a vacancy for the West Australian.

And although the idea was ultimately scrapped in favour of Smith’s elevation, it could be revisited ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Green, who has never opened at first-class level, previously indicated that No. 4 was his preferred position in red-ball cricket, with the right-hander thumping a career-best 174 not out against New Zealand at second drop earlier this year.

“There’s no question in my mind he can (open),” Watson told ESPNcricinfo earlier the year.

“Australia needs to get Cameron Green into the team and the opportunity that you’ve got right now is for him to open. They’ll just have to manage his bowling, for sure, like with my bowling when I was opening the batting. But he absolutely has got the skill, the run-scoring ability and the understanding to be able to make the most of being an opening batter for sure. It might take him a game or two just to be able to work out exactly what his game plan is. But he’s definitely got the game and the mentality to make the most of it.”

Meanwhile, Australia faces a nervous wait on Green’s availability for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after the all-rounder sustained a back injury in the United Kingdom last month. Pending the severity of the injury, he may serve as a specialist batter.

MITCHELL MARSH

Last summer, Mitchell Marsh did his best to brush aside questions about potentially opening the batting in Tests.

“How do I answer this without making a headline?” Marsh pondered at the time.

“For me … I’ve worked really hard to get back in this side and for me to look forward to having a role as an opener just doesn’t make sense to me.

“I love being at number six and in my last four Test matches I’ve really found my way and I guess who I am as a Test cricketer and I’m loving it, so I’m reluctant to change that.”

Marsh’s brother and father successfully opened the batting in Tests, while the West Australian has a decent record when facing the new ball in one-day cricket.

However, the reigning Allan Border Medallist has been Australia’s most consistent batter since he returned to the Test side last year, and national selectors may be reluctant to shift him from No. 6.

In a column for the Nine newspapers last summer, Australian legend Greg Chappell labelled Marsh a “compelling” option to replace Warner at the top of the order.

“His explosive batting style, combined with an ability to handle pace, positions him as the best candidate,” Chappell wrote at the time.

“Marsh’s proficiency in hitting down the ground and executing powerful hooks and cuts is ideal to counter-attack fast bowling.”

Former England captain Michael Vaughan also floated the idea ahead of last year’s Ashes series when Warner was under pressure to keep his spot in the Test side.

Although Marsh has never batted higher than No. 5 in Sheffield Shield across 95 innings for Western Australia, he plays fast bowling as well as anyone in the country.

“In this modern game, it’s good to have an opening batsman who looks to be proactive, looks to take the game on,” former Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin said on the Willow Talk podcast last year.

“(Marsh) picks up length as quick as anyone in this Australian team. He’s faced a lot of fast bowling in the West.

“When there’s opportunities I don’t mind his name and see how he goes at the top of the order.”

SOMEONE ELSE

Australian coach Andrew McDonald has hinted it would be highly unlikely for a specialist opener to be drafted in from outside the XI, reiterating that the top six from the New Zealand series would remain for the first Test against India.

“We feel as though that the team that finished in New Zealand, should they get a clean run at it and be well prepared, then they would be the best-placed players to fill that, there’s no doubt about that,” McDonald told SEN earlier this month.

However, those comments came before Green’s back injury, which could open the door for a specialist opener to slide into the Test side.

Matthew Renshaw is the incumbent spare batter, having toured New Zealand with the Test side earlier this year, but the Queenslander may have slipped down the pecking order following an underwhelming summer in the Sheffield Shield.

Victorian opener Marcus Harris was also featured in the Test squad last year, but similarly fell out of favour because of his lacklustre first-class performances, while Nic Maddinson has been in impressive Sheffield Shield form.

However, should a specialist opener be needed for the Perth Test against India, hometown hero Cameron Bancroft is a leading candidate.

The West Australian has been in scintillating form in the Sheffield Shield over the last 24 months, compiling 1728 runs at 54.00 during that period, including ten hundreds.

Bancroft has a wealth of experience against the new ball and would be well-equipped to handle Indian quicks Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj this summer.

“Against a more traditional Test match attack like India I would rather go with a traditional opener,” Border continued.

“I would go back to Bancroft. I am rewarding performance.

“I’m not going to say I feel sorry for Bancroft, but you may as well not bother having a Sheffield Shield competition if you don’t reward its leading performers.”