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Another Indian tour that got away. That best sums up the feeling right now.
Sure the Aussies aimed up in the most recent series, but let’s face it, they were thwarted yet again by some brilliant individual Indian batting, interesting pitches and their own zest for soul-destroying batting collapses.
However, despite India’s home-cooked pitches dishing up a batsman’s assortment of unsavoury bowling cuisines, did the Aussies ultimately fall victim to their own ham-fisted player selection pudding of favourites, has-beens and hopefuls?
By looking at some of the key moments in the series, where it was there to be won or lost, you can easily argue that with a minor shuffle in the deck the end result could have been much different.
A quick glance at the stats sheet and brief peep at the team list, one can look no further than at players’ names which end in Marsh to pinpoint a couple of eggs who may have spoiled Australia’s omelette.
But singling out the two Marsh brothers as the sole reason the Aussies were served seconds in the Test series would be mildly short sighted. They are only partly to blame.
The Marsh brothers certainly didn’t pick themselves – mountains of Shield runs and wickets did that, didn’t they?
Or is team selection these days based on other criteria?
It seems ten years worth of Shield numbers can easily be pushed to one side of the plate if baggy green selection criterion number one is nepotism.
Darren Lehmann, for one, seems to be escaping some much needed critiquing. Boof has been at the centre of couple of odd team selections and omissions since he donned the coach’s cap. One of the more notable rissolings was the parcelling and shipping out of a player was Ed Cowen.
His package was stamped return to sender – do not return. Hundreds of Shield runs and years later, Ed can count himself rather unlucky to have not been given another crack at the top level since his banishing.
Cowen’s lack of genetic connection to the baggy green could be seen as one factor in his shelving, but it’s more likely down to his frosty relationship with Lehmann. Cowen has openly spun yarns about the two’s inability to break the bread with other.
Usman Kawaja is the second of Boof’s discards which comes to mind. Much like a bowl of sago, Usman has been on and off the main menu for a few years despite the extra helpings of runs he’s gathered in recent times.
Yet Lehmann and Co seem to be fixated at looking for excuses as to why not to pick Kawaja. His non-participation medal on the Indian tour was probably the worst example of persona non-grata in the Australian cricket team since Brad Hodge was put through the egg beater and whisked back to the Sheffield Shield, despite owning a very recent double hundred to his name at the time.
If we were to put our chickens on the table, Shaun Marsh tried hard, but Lehmann is surely reaching for the paper towel to wipe the egg off his face. Marsh’s series was below average and well short of what Usman had been producing. Marsh’s times at the crease in India mirrored his entire career: one decent knock surrounded by a medley of tasteless orderve sized innings.
For Shaun Marsh, it’s surely his last bite of the cherry.
As for Mitch Marsh, he will be given another go. But his time should come after he has done some serious time chopping through the tough rump of Shield cricket. Dominance of the domestic competition will signal his readiness for Test cricket’s fiery soup.
To expect that the Indian tour will prove to be the last time we see such half-baked player selections might be a bit fanciful for fans to wish.
But we can still hope that the experience may have knocked some short term common sense back into a selection panel who for one reason or another got too cute with their player selections or sniffed some sort of nostalgic brew no-one else could see. Either way, they cooked their own goose.
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