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In Australian cricket, there is always an Ashes somewhere on the horizon, and almost all of our Test cricket is viewed through this prism at one point or another.
So while Steve Smith’s Australia rides roughshod in another run-fest romp over India, let’s have a look at what our Ashes Test side might look like, given every player has a perfect bill of health and has shown some semblance of their best form (a long bow to draw).
FOLLOW SCORES FROM DAY 3 OF THE CRICKET IN SYDNEY HERE
Starting from the top, David Warner is the most destructive opener in world cricket, and arguably the most consistent too. What a pleasure he’s been to watch over the last 12-18 months, combining batting maturity and shot selection to match his outrageous talent. If he’s not the first one picked, he can’t be far off it.
His opening partner will be Chris Rogers, and rightfully so. The left-hander has scored 1460 runs at an average of 40.5, with 10 fifties and four hundreds, since his return to Test cricket in the 2013 Ashes. While those numbers aren’t mind-blowing, they are just like his game – extremely solid. And when you’ve got an in-form partner like the explosive Warner at one end, extremely solid is absolutely perfect at the other.
Steve Smith should captain the side in England. He should also be the Test number three.
Smith’s form and mountains of runs need no further elaboration. He’s operating on a higher plane, and he’s shown at several points along the way in his career that he thrives with added responsibility. Up the order, and keep the skipper’s band on, I say.
It seems to have come about quickly, as the end often does for elite sportsman, but Michael Clarke is in the shadows of his impressive Test career. Hopefully his ailing body can get to the Ashes firstly, and then last the duration.
While Clarke’s powers are on an injury-induced wane (his last 35 Test innings have produced 1191 runs at an average of 39.7), he can still be a commanding presence at the crease when right, and has proven his intestinal fortitude when making big runs under physical and mental duress.
Still, with Clarke in the side and part of this particular batting order, the first four suddenly looks world class in a way that Australia hasn’t since the halcyon days when Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting were followed by either Michael Hussey or Damien Martyn.
Joe Burns should hold the number five position, ahead of the incumbent Shaun Marsh. Runs are the only currency those two can deal in though, and while there may not be much between the two at the moment, Burns has relative youth on his side.
Marsh’s first-class statistics, combined with what we’ve seen of him at Test level, tells us that he simply doesn’t have the concentration to consistently succeed at the highest level.
The question has to be asked though – is Burns in the same boat? He might just be. But it’s worth finding out with him at five behind a strong top-four. If George Bailey can get five Ashes Tests to prove his worth, so too should Burns.
Now for the contentious number six spot.
The Australian selectors love an all-rounder in their side, even an under-performing one, and as a cricket-watching public we’ve become conditioned to finding a spot for one when putting our own side together.
Thus we get to the biggest conundrum of all. Shane Watson – the riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an injury-plagued enigma. Of course, his vociferous critics have a much briefer description for him – in fact, it only has four letters.
If there’s to be a batting all-rounder, it will be between Watson and Mitch Marsh. I’d lean to Watson, given he’s the better batsman. And his bowling is more reliable and probably more suited to English conditions, regardless of whether the pitches are prepared with some give in them or the dry dustbowls we saw last time out.
With the bat, Watson can be allowed, and should be encouraged, to play with freedom and positive intent at number six, if not downright aggression. If he can spend some time against the second new ball, then all the better.
If there looks to be some spin, Stephen O’Keefe and Glenn Maxwell come into the reckoning. The former would bat further down the order as a bowling all-rounder if the selectors want someone to spin it the other way to Nathan Lyon, while Maxwell would need a strong finish with the bat to the 2014-15 season, either as part of the World Cup squad, or at Shield level.
Brad Haddin needs to make some more runs, but it’s hard to see him not being there when hostilities commence. The people who talk about ‘pure glovemen’ are wearying. A keeper must contribute with the bat, and it has always been the case. Adam Gilchrist just crystallised the already sound thinking.
Peter Nevill or Tim Ludeman could be the travelling back-up, or perhaps Peter Handscomb if the selectors want to declare their hand for the next decade.
Mitch Johnson and Ryan Harris pick themselves from a pace perspective, with the only question being who should support them as the third quick.
We haven’t seen the very best of James Pattinson at Test level for a couple of years, but he should be given first crack if he can get some first-class overs under his belt. We shouldn’t forget his world-class potential.
Josh Hazlewood looks to have an impressive future, and is the right back-up if and when Pattinson or Harris break down. Mitch Starc can come along for the ride as Johnson’s understudy, but should only really play if both Harris and Hazlewood are in the same side.
Nathan Lyon is a good ordinary off-spinner whose place probably shouldn’t be as secure as it seems to be. Take out his 12-wicket haul against India in Adelaide, and his 2014 returns were 21 wickets at 54.4 from eight Tests. Surely we demand more penetration and consistency than that.
That said, he does an okay job in a difficult role, and he’s probably the best we’ve got. As a rule, an off-spinner is an off-spinner is an off-spinner.
Fawad Ahmed is the second-leading wicket-taker at Shield level this season, with a respectable 18 at 30.72, and should be looking to secure an English county contract for the northern summer, if he hasn’t already. His leg spin should be seriously considered if the pitches are tailored to break up and prey on Australia’s weakness against spin.
The Australian Test side has been in a state of permanent flux since the retirements of Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey, and will likely be again once Rogers, Haddin and Harris call it quits, but between now and then, there’s an Ashes series in England to win or draw.
Here’s my side to help us do it: D. Warner, C. Rogers, S. Smith (c), M. Clarke, J. Burns, S. Watson, B. Haddin, M. Johnson, J. Pattinson, R. Harris, N. Lyon.
Travelling squad members: S. Marsh, M. Marsh, P. Handscomb, J. Hazlewood, M. Starc, S. O’Keefe, F. Ahmed.