The Australian selectors generally get it right

Since the 2006 Ashes in Australia, we have witnessed a procession of senior players walking out the door for a variety of reasons. This has exposed a major weakness in the Australian cricket community. It has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of the new players, however. The fact is that none of us have any idea about what a selector is supposed to do.

From time to time in my international career I felt as though I was, to put it diplomatically, a “little unlucky” to miss out on the team.

I think the most disappointing selection was the last tour of India.

The cruel reality of sport, however, is that teams are not picked to keep people happy. The Australian team selected on any given day is the team that selectors, coaching staff and, to a lesser extent the captain, feel has the best chance of winning a test.

Instead of sitting around in a pub telling their mates what team they would like, they put their reputations on the line and announce it to the world.

There are only a couple of things that I think a player should expect from the selectors.

You should never be reading about their opinions before you hear them first hand. You should always find out about your non-selection before the public does, and if you have been dropped because of a perceived technical, disciplinary or mental flaw, you shouldn’t be hearing about it for the first time when the axe falls.

The first two are dead easy, the third is generally the first casualty in a communication breakdown.
If a player is honest, and manages to make an objective appraisal of his non-selection (easier said than done!), all of the answers to his questions are generally right in front of him.

Missing out on a team probably doesn’t mean you’ll never play again, it certainly doesn’t mean that you’re useless, and it doesn’t mean that you’re from the wrong state. Occasionally you just have to realise that there’s simply a better option at that particular moment.

Unfortunately, deciding who is the best option is not up to the players.

However, providing the selectors have made it very clear to everyone the direction they want to take the team in and they make a reasonable effort to be consistent, you have to shrug your shoulders and try and change their minds for the next selection meeting.

Despite the fact that I always loved one-day cricket and enjoyed considerable success with NSW, Australian selectors made it clear to me very early in the piece that economy rate and not wickets was important.

I wish I had played more, but Australia has won three World Cups since I got the bad news, so maybe they knew what they were doing.

I guess the reason I have been thinking so much about this is that a number of my good friends in cricket have been a “little unlucky” lately: Beau Casson missed out not once, but twice; Phil Jaques was dropped after making a hundred; and Dougie Bollinger was overlooked in favour of Peter Siddle.

It is easy for me to say this now that I am not in the team, but I not only completely understand these selections, but I think I probably agree with them too.

All three of my mates will play plenty of cricket for Australia, and provided they understand that, it will happen sooner rather than later. It doesn’t help them or the guy who replaces them to hear, read, or see “experts” declaring the selections a joke.

Having toured the West Indies with Andrew Hilditch, I can honestly say that I found him to be a thoughtful, considerate and intelligent man who is trying to do the best job he possibly can. He hasn’t
been doing a bad job if you have a look at his track record.

And by the way, if you think that a player is crap, then it’s in your best interests for him to get picked, because if you’re right, he won’t be there for long.

Stuart MacGill played 44 Tests for Australia and took 208 wickets. He joins The Roar today as a columnist. Welcome aboard, Stuey!

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