Hughes, Ponting, and other selection quandaries

 
Brett McKay Columnist

By , 6 Dec 2011 Brett McKay is a Roar Expert

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Will Peter Siddle be on the sidelines for the Adelaide Test? (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)

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The new National Selection Panel has dodged another series of bullets heading into the second Trans-Tasman Test in Hobart, with injuries again negating the need to make changes to the Australian side.

Changes after a comprehensive nine-wicket victory generally don’t occur anyway, but with any number of unusual sets of circumstances currently surrounding Michael Clarke’s team, changing a winning side wouldn’t seem that out-of-the-ordinary.

So while the selection quandaries haven’t quite raised their ugly collective heads yet, they’re not far around the corner, either. So let’s examine a few that stand out.

Phillip Hughes
It’s the question on everyone’s lips: should Hughes stay, or should he go back to NSW and sort out his business.

He made a crucial century just four Tests ago, in Sri Lanka, and his 88 in the second innings in Johannesburg paved the way for Australia’s gritty, fight-back win after the debacle in Cape Town.

All up, he’s passed thousand runs in 16 Tests, and with three centuries and three fifties from 30 walks to the crease. On the surface, these look like decent numbers, but scratch that surface a little and the numbers, like many of his dismissals, don’t look that pretty at all.

Hughes’ remaining Test innings all involve him being dismissed for 37 or less. Sixteen of those are for scores under 20. On 17 occasions within his 30 innings, he faced less than fifty balls before being dismissed. Of his last six Tests, he has only four scores above 12. None of these seem ideal scenarios for an opening batsman, in my humble opinion.

Jesse Hogan reported in the Fairfax press this week that of his ten innings in Australia, he was out caught in the ‘keeper-gully region seven times, as has been the case now in five of his last six Test innings.

The question, though, isn’t about his abundant talent, or his ability. Both are evident every time he walks out to bat. The problem for him now is that just as the hook shot was Andrew Hilditch’s downfall in the mid-Eighties, opposition bowlers similarly only need one plan for Hughes.

Michael Clarke said after Brisbane that Hughes’ “technique has improved out of sight,” and perhaps it has. Certainly, his head is at least stiller at the point of impact than was once the case.

But double failures in nine-wicket wins never look good, and nor should they be overlooked. If one opener had to make way right now, it’s a decent argument that David Warner currently provides more to the team in terms of his exceptional fielding, and his very occasional leg-breaks. As a bowling option, Hughes makes a superb opening batsman.

The issue for Hughes seems to be that it’s so hard to tell whether he’s in good nick or not. What’s really worrying, too, is that he can’t seem to escape the three slips/two gullies trap, and it’s a matter of when, not if his wicket will fall. That strikes me as being a less than ideal scenario for an opening batsman.

Ricky Ponting
A similar scratch on the surface of Ponting’s numbers may make for equally sombre reading to those of Hughes’.

Ponting has, perhaps, been the biggest beneficiary of the recent fitness merry-go-round surrounding Shaun Marsh and Shane Watson. But he also figures as the hurdle in allowing Watson to slide down the batting order to a position more conducive to his performing as an all-rounder.

While ever Marsh remains injured, and backs aren’t exactly an injury you can come back early from, it would seem that Watson will remain at the top of the order, and likewise, Ponting in the middle.

Ponting’s runs in Johannesburg and Brisbane have also helped stave off the guillotine master for now, and as I wrote for www.cricket.com.au during the First Test, he’s probably won back the chance to end his career on his terms.

If that’s Hobart, or even Sydney, then so be it, that’s his choice. If it’s Perth, then he’s probably earned that right over a glittering career.

Peter Siddle
I read in the aftermath of the First Test win, that the player who perhaps misses Mitchell Johnson the most is Siddle, with the point made that without Johnson’s wide-reaching radar to focus on, you forget how unthreatening Siddle’s bowling can often be.

After his Ashes hat-trick at the ‘Gabba last summer, Siddle spoke of a slightly fuller length being the catalyst for his rare feat. James Pattinson similarly spoke of bowling fuller, after he destroyed New Zealand’s second innings on Sunday.

Yet despite past success with the fuller length at the ‘Gabba, Siddle was back to his default length and general ‘unthreateningness’, and again finished a Test with little to show for it.

His economy was good in Brisbane, but economy on its own isn’t quite enough, just ask Trent Copeland. There’s no questioning Siddle’s effort, but he was picked in the First Test to lead the young quicks in attack. By the end of the match, the young quicks seemed to be doing just fine on their own.

As is the case for Ponting and the fitness of Marsh and Watson, Siddle’s longevity seems dependant on Ryan Harris not rushing back. Or Pat Cummins, for that matter.

Nathan Lyon
The quandary here, happily, is that “which spinner?” hasn’t featured in recent Test selection meetings. In post-Warne times, this is essentially unprecedented, and it’s a wonderful problem to once again have…

Follow Brett McKay on Twitter: @BMcSport
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