Australia are seeking to become the first team in history to defend a World Test Championship crown when they take on South Africa in next week's final at Lord's, London.
Most of the squad assembled in Inverness, Scotland last weekend from all corners of the globe, with many such as top order batters Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith coming from Sydney, their colleagues Cameron Green and Marnus Labuschagne making the short trip from County Championship stints in England, whilst Josh Inglis and Josh Hazlewood flew directly from Ahmedabad after playing for opposite sides in Tuesday's IPL final.
Now preparing as a squad at the County Ground, Beckenham, the varying degrees of match fitness amongst the squad means Australia's coaching group has had to carefully consider the workloads of each individual leading into next week's final, after which they will soon commence a five-week tour of the West Indies.
"It's always nice when the group gets back together," McDonald said to Cricket Australia's media team.
"The Test team hasn't been together since the Sri Lanka series (in January 2025), so it's nice to see all the faces. We used Scotland purely as a launching pad into the WTC and we did a similar thing last time, just in a different location."
McDonald said the 15-man squad are all currently at sufficient levels of fitness, despite the trio of Starc, Cummins and Hazlewood all missing the Champions Trophy earlier this year, whilst Inglis was a late comer to the IPL because of his own issues.
"It's always touch wood. We've had a couple of guys with some niggles over a long period of time. It was great to see Josh Hazlewood get back from a slight shoulder niggle and congratulations to him for what he achieved during the IPL."
When asked about the significance of next week's game, McDonald was understandably keen to add another WTC trophy to his burgeoning honours list as a coach.
"What it means will be different for each individual," McDonald stated.
"It's always a priority for us as we set out on a two-year journey. The first match in this cycle was the first Ashes Test match which seems an eternity ago!
"We have a great opportunity here to win another ICC event. It's something that has always been dear to our players. To do it two times in a row would be something quite special."
The WTC final begins on Wednesday 11 June.