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Australia's World T20 top-order conundrum

Aaron Finch could make the Test team yet. (AFP PHOTO/ANDREW YATES)
Roar Rookie
11th February, 2016
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The Australian World Twenty20 squad announced on Tuesday was riddled with perplexing selections.

The elevation of wicketkeeping specialist Peter Nevill was a commendable reversal of what had seemed an unstoppable trend towards batsman-wicketkeepers, following the scintillating career of Adam Gilchrist.

The omission of Cameron Boyce and an overall leaning towards a pace-heavy attack were equally intriguing, but far less praiseworthy.

Less surprising, however, was the puzzle presented by a top-heavy batting group. Newly anointed three-format captain Steve Smith leads four batsmen best suited to an opening role.

More cricket:
» There’s method in the selection madness
» Aussie rookies face litmus Tests in New Zealand
» Have the Australian selectors at last got it right for the T20 World Cup?
» Nevill the shock inclusion as Australia announce World T20 squad
» The Liebke Ratings: New Zealand vs Australia third ODI
» Watch: New Zealand retain Chappell-Hadlee Trophy amid controversy
» Scorecard: New Zealand vs Australia third ODI

David Warner, former captain Aaron Finch and veteran allrounder Shane Watson have all found considerable T20 International success at the very top of the order. Then there’s the reborn Usman Khawaja, who made a scarcely believable two centuries and two half-centuries at an average of 172.5 in the position from his four Big Bash League appearances this summer, finishing as the tournament’s second-highest run-scorer from half as many matches as the overall leader, Chris Lynn.

How these four players will fit into a top five which must also accommodate Smith and Glenn Maxwell will prove difficult for selectors Rod Marsh, Darren Lehmann, Mark Waugh and Trevor Hohns.

The difference between Watson’s record as an opener and in other positions is of particular interest to the national selection panel and Smith, who will determine the batting order. Watson has long maintained that his best position in all formats is as an opening batsman, and the numbers lend substantial support to his opinion. At the top of the order, he averages 35.06, with a strike rate of 153.53, and has scored all of his 11 fifty-plus scores in the position.

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In other batting slots, Watson averages a meagre 15.20, with a strike rate of 118.75. The memory of his 124* against India, the highest international Twenty20 score by a captain, will be fresh in the minds of the selectors. In his most recent Pakistan Super League match, as captain and opening batsman for Islamabad United, he put on 153 for the first wicket with Sharjeel Khan.

Having performed well with the ball in the recent series against India, it is difficult to see Watson being left out of the playing XI. Whether captain and selectors will take heed of these striking numbers is difficult to foresee.

Finch, the recently dumped captain of Australia’s T20 side who is currently recovering from injury, appears likely to miss out on his preferred opening slot and perhaps the playing XI altogether. Yet he was only recently being deposed as the No.1 ranked Twenty20 batsman, and possesses an elite average of 41.61 in Twenty20 cricket, at a strike rate of 151.47 and with a highest score of 156.

Like many of his Australian colleagues however, Finch has struggled against high-class spin bowling, preferring to feast on fast-medium bowlers with the ball coming sweetly onto the bat.

Vice-captain Warner, recognised as an opening batsman of rare ability in all three formats, is a near-certainty to face the new ball in Australia’s first match of the tournament against New Zealand. However, Warner is possibly the most versatile of this batting quartet. A clean, powerful, and above all controlled striker of both pace and spin, Warner is arguably better placed to take up a middle order position than any of Watson, Finch and Khawaja, all of whom prefer to play themselves in before opening up their strokeplay later in an innings.

Khawaja, despite the scintillating recent form that has seen him elevated to the one-day international side, may find himself competing directly with Finch. Khawaja’s advantages are Finch’s injury, as well as his own significant experience as a No.3 batsman. Crucially, the resurgent Khawaja of the 2015-16 summer has shown a remarkable improvement against spin bowling, employing silken footwork and sublime timing to loft tweakers over the offside boundary.

Khawaja’s lack of international experience, and Smith’s apparent preference for the No.3 position in limited overs cricket, could count against him. However it may prove difficult for the selectors to resist the former’s sparkling touch.

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As many have said, whoever the selectors pick, Australia will field a formidable batting line-up in its World T20 opener. So Roarers, what does your top five look like?

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