The squad for the Test series of India has been announced, with the Australians picking three new faces – which means three players who were part of the whitewash of Pakistan have been dropped.
Mitch Marsh has been recalled after being dropped for a lack of form.
Mitch is a great short-form player – an attacking batsman who can take a wicket when needed. However, in India, the best form of attack is defence, because of the amount of spin in the pitches.
A good replacement for Mitch Marsh would be Moises Henriques or James Faulkner, who add variety to the batting attack and whose work with the ball is better suited to the slow, low wickets.
Meanwhile, Mitch’s brother, Shaun, returns from injury.
This is a concern, as Shaun has not shown great form in the Big Bash League, resulting in limited time at the crease since returning from injury – and, as in any sport, players can practice, but nothing beats being out in the middle.
Hopefully Shaun’s experience on the subcontinent will help and he can post some big scores.
Glen Maxwell’s selection is controversial, as he has not scored a Sheffield Shield century in two seasons. He is a tidy bowler, but with Ashton Agar and Nathan Lyon, that is too many off-spin bowlers.
There is no bigger test than keeping wicket to spinners in India, as the spin in unpredictable. Matthew Wade is a great aggressive batsman, however the Indian conditions are more suited to the gritty Peter Nevill. In Sri Lanka, when Steven O’Keefe had an injury, Nevill and O’Keefe batted for 90 minutes, facing 178 balls, knowing the game could not be won but they tried to save it. This is the kind of mental toughness needed to survive in harsh conditions.
Speaking of O’Keefe, he is a great all-rounder, who can bat and bowl over in tandem with Lyon. While he deserves to be there, he should be the all-rounder. The better option spin-bowling option would have been to take Fahwed Ahmed, as he has a lot of variety in his arsenal and was the leading wicket taker only two seasons ago in Sheffield Shield.
The big decision is how to fit both Shaun Marsh and Matt Renshaw in the same team. Also, with the heat, there needs to be one or two all-rounders, meaning only having four or five specialist batsmen.
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