Trent Copeland, 25, did not set Sri Lanka alight with brilliant performances in the recently concluded Test series, but he showed promise of things to come. He could keep Sri Lanka’s world-class stroke-players Kumar Sangakkara, Tillekeratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene quiet.
I saw some similarities between Copeland and a young Glenn McGrath.
I was surprised to learn yesterday that Copeland was excluded from both the Twenty20 internationals and one-day international squads for the important tour of South Africa starting on 13th October.
To keep runs down are vital in limited-overs matches are vitally important and he will be missed.
The inclusion of Brett Lee at 34 is another surprise.
I saw him bowl in the Champion’s League Twenty20 match at Hyderabad for Kolkata Knight Riders against South Australia Redbacks on Tuesday and he was hit from pillar to post by the Redback batsmen to have figures of 1-42 in four overs.
Lee out, Copeland in, I say.
The injury to Tim Paine gives Matthew Wade from Victoria an opportunity to play his first Twenty20 international.
Like Paine, Wade was also born in Tasmania and had to move to Victoria to get a chance to play first-class cricket and ODIs.
The retirement of Brad Haddin from Twenty20 scene and injury to Paine has given Wade a good opportunity to prove his credentials.
The inclusion of Western Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh, 19, in the T20 squad is pleasing. It seems only yesterday that his elder brother Shaun, 28, had scored a century in his Test debut in Sri Lanka.
Last year the new WA coach Mickey Arthur had proclaimed that Mitchell Marsh had the potential to be a Jacques Kallis type all-rounder, batting in the top five and acting as the fourth seamer.
Indeed, big shoes to fill!
But then this has been a month for the Marshes as their Dad Geoff was recently appointed the Sri Lankan coach.
If selected in a Twenty20 international match, the Marshes will become second pair of Australian brothers to play together after Mike and David Hussey.
National Selection Panel Chairman Andrew Hilditch commented: “We consider we have picked an extremely strong Twenty20 squad, which has a good balance of experience and exciting young talent. There is flexibility in the squad to deal with conditions in South Africa.”
One wonders why Shane Watson is vice-captain in both Twenty20 squad (to Victoria’s Cameron White) and ODI squad (to Michael Clarke).
About time Watson is made captain of the Twenty20 squad.
Here is the Twenty20 squad to take on South Africa at Cape Town on 13th October and at Johannesburg on the 16th:
Cameron White, Shane Watson, Doug Bollinger, Patrick Cummins. Aaron Finch, David Hussey, Brett Lee, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Stephen O’Keefe, James Pattinson, Steven Smith, Matthew Wade and David Warner.
There are big hitters, starting from Warner and Watson at the top to White, Finch and Smith in the middle. I often wonder what selectors have got against Callum Ferguson?
But bowling will have problems against seasoned South African batsmen. Lee is long in the tooth while quickies Cummins, 18, and Pattinson, 21, have not quite “cut” their teeth. It will be too much for Doug Bollinger and Watson.
Just as well the erratic Mitchell Johnson is omitted from the Twenty20 squad.
I am hopeful slow left-arm orthodox O’Keefe will do well on the tour, but leggie Smith is a lottery ticket.
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September 29th 2011 @ 8:09am
Matt F said | September 29th 2011 @ 8:09am | Report comment
As good as Copeland is in the long form of the game he is quite awful at both one day and T20 cricket. Notice that he didn’t even get a contract for any of the big bash franchises, isn’t in the NSW T20 CL squad (beaten out by two teenagers and a retired veteran) and he barely plays Ryobi Cup for NSW, and for good reason.
There are plenty of examples of players who excel at one ofrm of the game yet fail at others. Copeland is one such player. Pick your best squad for each form of the game.
I agree with you on Ferguson. His fall from the national team has been very strange. Nearly every time he’s played for Australia he’s player well and he’s doing well in the Champions League.
September 29th 2011 @ 8:10am
Bayman said | September 29th 2011 @ 8:10am | Report comment
Kersi,
I am surprised that a man of your years and experience would try to work out what the selectors were doing. One could be forgiven for thinking that if Copeland should fail to make it as a Test bowler he should at least be successful in the short forms of the game – given his apparent accuracy. It is an easy mistake to make and one that I definitely made.
As you said, he kept some very good players quiet in Sri Lanka even if he didn’t quite get them out as often as some might like. Brett Lee, on the other hand, has over 300 Test wickets but has never been known as a tight bowler in any format. Clearly Kersi there are some things that you and I just do not know and may never know – foremost among them being how selectors actually select.
Like you, I am a little bemused by the apparent disappearance of Callum Ferguson from national panel thinking. Did he not just recently take Brett Lee to the cleaners? He was touted as a “coming talent” until he injured his knee and now it seems everybody has gone past him without actually playing better than him. Perhaps he was out so long Andrew Hilditch has simply forgotten him?
Having said all that I am pleased to see Cummins, Pattinson and Marsh junior in the squad. T20 may not be Test cricket but it will give a clue to the temperament of these young players. I was lucky enough to see young Marsh make his debut first class hundred against NSW last season (and Warner get his in the same game) and have a chat to him. He’s a lovely young man and a credit to his parents.
I trust, too, that having watched brother Shaun butcher his talent and delay his entry into the Test arena Mitchell will get focussed early in his career and not waste the opportunity. Chatting to him he certainly seemed like a mature young man so I don’t expect any issues there. And he is a big unit so if he hits it, it stays hit. You could probably fit two of Dave Warner into one Mitchell Marsh.
I guess the ommision of Mitchell Johnson means the selectors have finally worked out what every Roarer has long known – Johnno cannot bowl a tight line.
It does seem, too, that the selection of White as T20 captain is simply because that’s what they did last year. White would need to at least contribute something, surely, to maintain his ranking. Last year he was simply the wicket you had to get to get at the next batsman on the card – and that usually didn’t take too long. Here’s hoping for some improvement.
September 29th 2011 @ 1:49pm
Rickety Knees said | September 29th 2011 @ 1:49pm | Report comment
Spot on Bayman
September 29th 2011 @ 8:24am
jamesb said | September 29th 2011 @ 8:24am | Report comment
Copeland doesn’t have the pace in the shorter versions of the game, thats why he is struggling.
Copeland needs to increase his pace by an extra 5 kays if he wants to play in the shorter forms of the game. How he does that? maybe its technical, or maybe bulk up, i don’t know
September 29th 2011 @ 11:13am
jameswm said | September 29th 2011 @ 11:13am | Report comment
I think Copeland’s predictable bowling pattern and subtle variations works for tests but not the shorter form of the game.
September 29th 2011 @ 11:36am
Stern Blend said | September 29th 2011 @ 11:36am | Report comment
Copeland is very similar to a young McGrath, he bowls a tight line and because of that he should only be selected in the test team. Some could argue that he should be included in the odi’s to gain more experience but i say focus on tests. What he really needs is for the Australian selectors to persist with him. In saying that i do think he would be a better selection then Brett Lee for the South Africa tour, he is struggling at the moment.
The selections i would make to the T20 team is Cameron White out (useless) and Ferguson in. Lyon for O’Keefe or Smith, he has great flight, dip and variation that is great for T20 cricket. Watson captain.
I wish Mitchell Marsh all the best, great talent and he really needs the support of the selectors so he can gain experience and have a long career, help bring Australia back to the top.
The only thing i will miss about Johnson not been in the team is not seeing Jessica Bratich in the stands.
September 29th 2011 @ 12:46pm
Kersi Meher-Homji said | September 29th 2011 @ 12:46pm | Report comment
I cannot agree with the theory that if a bowler can restrict run-scoring in Tests, he cannot in limited overs matches. Economy is the catch phrase for T20s and F50s.
What mystified me last decade was the continuous dropping of aggressive opening batsman Michael Slater in ODIs since late 1990s. Why? I’ll never know. He was a genuine Test and ODI match-winner.
September 29th 2011 @ 1:43pm
sledgeross said | September 29th 2011 @ 1:43pm | Report comment
Kersi, I believe Slats did get a few chances, but never scored a ton.
September 29th 2011 @ 2:35pm
Kersi Meher-Homji said | September 29th 2011 @ 2:35pm | Report comment
After doing some research I agree with you, Sledgeross, re Slater. He averaged only 24.07 in 42 ODIs.
He started off his ODI career in a blaze of glory smashing 73 spectacular runs (off 69 balls with 8 fours and a six) against South Africa on the MCG in December 1993. But did not reach such heights again in 41 subsequent ODIs.
September 29th 2011 @ 3:03pm
Chris said | September 29th 2011 @ 3:03pm | Report comment
I also wonder whether the fact that they are very different bowlers has something to do with it. As previous posters have said, Copeland is a medium pace, McGrath type bowler, whereas Lee is an out and out quick. I wouldn’t be paying too much attention to the Cl game where he got carted around. Any bowler can have an off day. He does bring a fair amount of experience to mentor the younger bowlers. I’ actually OK with Copeland’s omission and Lee’s inclusion. And thank goodness Johnson’s been dropped. He must be very close to the edge in the other forms of the game too I would have thought.
September 30th 2011 @ 8:52pm
Brendon said | September 30th 2011 @ 8:52pm | Report comment
Johnson’s form in ODI’s is the only thing he’s excelled in though his record in T20′s overall isn’t too bad.
September 29th 2011 @ 5:40pm
Timmuh said | September 29th 2011 @ 5:40pm | Report comment
Fine by me. Let him concentrate on the cricket that counts, not the fifty over game that has importance once ever four years or the 20 over anti-cricket.