Does anyone have a plan C? Yesterday was meant to be the day where a select few from the 17-man Ashes squad thrust their hand into the sky so hard it was impossible to ignore, but by stumps Australia’s cricket selectors would’ve been pulling their hair out.
If plan A and B doesn’t work, then where to next?
Australia A’s game against England in Hobart saw contenders Usman Khawaja (13) and Callum Ferguson (7) fail. Those on the cusp like Phil Hughes (2) and Cameron White (5) also had no luck.
The only person to stand up was NSW leg-spinner Steve Smith (59) who is, day by day, showing he’s more likely to be a far better batsman than a tweaker.
The pitch was almost as green as the outfield and the ball was moving at angles that several protractor-wielding intellects would struggle to measure.
It was almost like watching a game of backyard cricket where your best mate had taped up one side of the ball to make it hoop around.
So that’s the excuse side of things covered. The reality is that this was England’s back-up bowling attack with their first choice options already in Brisbane scouring the GABBA square for secrets.
Tasmania’s match against New South Wales was meant to be a battle between left-armer Xavier Doherty and test incumbent Nathan Hauritz.
Doherty was unbeaten on 20 in the Tigers meagre first innings total of 125 and returned economical figures of none for 7 off four overs as the Blues were bowled out for just 97 in their first dig.
Hauritz wasn’t required to bowl in 43.4 overs. I suspect that has done him far more harm than good, but the selectors may take the view that wickets were falling at such a rate they didn’t want to disrupt the flow.
If this was a title fight then Doherty would be ahead on the judges scorecards.
Shane Watson (6), Simon Katich (1) and Brad Haddin (10) made no impact with the bat, but they’re proven performers and will be certain starters at the GABBA next Thursday.
Ricky Ponting (7) was caught behind off Trent Copeland who continues to impress by taking 6 for 51. This kid has flown under the radar slightly, but has a first class bowling average of 18.89. All should be on notice.
Doug Bollinger proved he really is fit and ready for the first test by taking 3 for 25 off 11.
The next most intriguing fixture is at the MCG where Victoria is taking on Western Australia.
Mike Hussey (0) has cause to be less than pleased with his brother David who caught him. The left-hand veteran has been the focus of much selection speculation over the past 7-days, but I can’t see him being dropped even if he goes through the second innings and the first test without breaking double figures. Hussey is one of the leaders in the camp and they’ll want to keep some experienced heads around. Marcus North (17), another under pressure, is in the same basket.
Mitchell Johnson (82n.o.) may be struggling with line and length, but like Steve Smith, is a talented batsman and proved as much yesterday.
Andrew McDonald, the forgotten man of Australian cricket, finished with figures of 1 for 22 off 18.3.
So what do the selectors do with all of that?
They’re no closer to knowing who is in form and who isn’t and the bowlers are performing better with bat-in-hand.
In contrast, those England brought out to Australia to make orange juice and tea, are performing like world-beaters.
Despite numerous poor performances I truly didn’t believe Australia’s Ashes preparations were in crisis before yesterday.
I was confident this English team, like those who have gone before them, would forget every bit of cricket knowledge once they left Heathrow, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
This version is confident, relaxed and not intimidated by the boys in the baggy green or those hanging around the edges.
So where do the selectors turn if the current team is struggling and the candidates aren’t able to perform under pressure?
It’s an unenviable position today that can be rectified by tomorrow with several big innings and a bagful of wickets.
Such is the nature of cricket.
Consistency is what we’re searching for and unfortunately unable to find
You can follow Luke on twitter @luke_doherty and on Sky News Australia.
Bayman
Guest
Matt, I would not be surprised if Copeland plays before this series is over. He doesn't seem to be into Douggie's agro rubbish, he just puts the ball in dangerous spots consistently. No surprise that Bollinger's last ball to Butterworth went over the fence to give Tassie the match. Doug may think he was being aggresive but, in truth, it was just another crap short ball which got the treatment it deserved. Hauritz, of course, didn't help his cause by dropping the catch - off Copeland - which would have won the match for NSW (and given Copeland 10 for the game). I suspect, now, that his Test career is over. I just cannot see how he could possibly do well enough to get back in given he's not really a bowler who will run through sides. It would not surprise me if now that he's lost his Australian spot he has trouble holding his position for NSW. O'Keefe and Smith may now be seen as the two best spinning options for the Blues. Incidentally, on the strength of his performance against NSW, Butterworth may get a look in future as an allrounder. He basically won the game for Tassie (39 and 44no) with wickets thrown in. A very handy player. Worse players than him have played Test cricket.
jameswm
Guest
Nah Spiro I'd go for O'Keefe or Doherty - probably the former. Poor Ferguson copped two crackers - at the wrong time. Khawaja or Ferguson needed to score runs while Hussey failed, not the opposite. I reckon the only change now will be leaving out Hauritz - probably for Doherty seeing as he is in the squad, but O'Keefe some chance.
Spiro Zavos
Expert
After the way things went in the Sheffield Shield matches and the Australia XI game my guess is that the only major change to the Australian team to play in the first Ashes Test at Brisbane XI is that Steve Smith will come into the side ahead of Nathan Hauritz. John Benaud, an excellent captain and selector in his day, has been quoted as saying that Hauritiz should never play for Australia again. I'm inclined to agree with him. There is a lack of genuine spinning talent right now in Australia. The answer is to rely on Marcus North, Steve Smith, Michael Clark and Simon Katich to do, together, what someone like Shane Warne did much better by himself.
Jeansy
Guest
"Message to selectors, get Stephen O'Keefe into the Test side. I'm a big Hauritz fan, but O'Keefe's all-round package looks fantastic." Totally agree definatly a better option then hauritz -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download The Roar's iPhone App in the App Store here.
Lolly
Guest
"I was confident this English team, like those who have gone before them, would forget every bit of cricket knowledge once they left Heathrow, but that doesn’t seem to be the case." Why were you confident of this? They, like the rest of us, have been able to see what sort of state the Aussies have been in recently. Why would they worry about our bowling attack or for that matter, our aging and inconsistent batting line-up? The Ausses are ranked no 5 for a reason.
Frankie Hughes
Guest
Message to selectors, get Stephen O'Keefe into the Test side. I'm a big Hauritz fan, but O'Keefe's all-round package looks fantastic.
whiteline
Guest
Fisher The Smith hype is just that. His bowling is very average and on typical flat modern day pitches he'll score you a few runs no doubt but I need a lot of convincing about playing him as a top six as a lot of people have been pushing.
jameswm
Guest
and not too expensive. A couple up on Hauritz.
Fisher Price
Guest
Another New South Welshman, I hear the doubters say. But his figures are awesome. Meanwhile, Johnson - who never set the world alight for Qld - is undroppable.
Fisher Price
Guest
Smith showed at Bellerive that, no, his bowling is not yet up to it. I thought White was bowling...
Fisher Price
Guest
Punter out hooking. Well. I. Never.
sledgeross
Guest
On form, Steve OKeefe. Takes wickets and can bat!
Georgie McHugh
Guest
The thing that I am excited about is that all signs point to wickets with grass on them throughout the summer. That can only be a good thing. Whilst the England team are only fielding their second string attack, keep in mind that Australia are only fielding their second string batting line up. I don't quite understand how that gives an indictaion to the outcome for the summer. That is: the outcome of a game in which two teams that won't be playing each other for the Ashes, surely can't give a read on the outcome of the contest. If England's batsmen fail, that is quite another matter. In that case, their front line batsmen will have failed against Australia's second-string attack. I've never been terribly interested in lead up games. Ponting, Katich and Watson are not playing for their spots and on a pretty spicy deck that got out playing loose shots. I really don't think that you can read too much into perceived "poor" form in these games.
Brett McKay
Guest
Lolly, Katich is batting in Sydney now, so the shoulder problem can't be too major...
Warren
Guest
Good article Luke. I differ on one point though - there is definitely consistency. It's all poor.
Lolly
Guest
Why isn't Hussey droppable? He's been very poor for quite some time. I think if Kat is injured, Huss will stay otherwise I see no reason to hold on to someone for their experience. Look at how many tests Clarke, Haddin, Johnson and Punter have. I cant' see a single reason why England should be worried about the Australian team. The Aussies look flat out just managing to be ordinary at present.
jameswm
Guest
Did anyone else see the dismissals? Khawaja got a good 'un and the ball that got Ferguson was almost unplayable. Ponting, Watson, Hussey, North, Kat - they didn't appear to fall to cracking balls. Ponting pushed hard at one outside off before he was set. Hmmmm, never seen that before. I don't see how North and Hussey are undroppable. from what I could gather, Hussey scratched around for 18 balls and was lucky to get to 0. Smith is unorthodox but effective. I'm still not sure if he's ready yet. Let's see how the spinners bowl but right now my preferred 6 quicks (in order) are Hilfy, Harris, Bolly, Johnson, George and Cameron. Siddle and McKay not in there. Harris will be the one who doesn't make it though - fair enough right now as his knee can't be relied on till he gets another couple of games under his belt. Spin wise - I can't see how I could pick Hauritz. Surely Doherty and O'Keefe are worth a go. I don't know about Smith batting at 8 and being the primary spinner - is his spinning really up to it? Hopefully we'll find out today. Based on 1-4 being set and Harris not being considered, my 5-11 wold probably be Khawaja Ferguson Paine O'Keefe or Doherty Johnson Hilfy Bolly so a new 5-8 - 4 new guys in one test, though Paine doesn't really count because he played the last 2 tests (with aplomb). I don't think they'll pick any more than 2 new players in the team in one go, which is probably fair enough. So I'd say they might drop Hussey and Haury, and North might be spared the axe for now. They'll pick Haddin of course but he shold be under serious scrutiny. Paine is really pushing his case. At least having O'Keefe and Johnson at 8 and 9 could give us some batting depth, which we might need if Hussey, North and Haddin are at 5-6-7.
Brett McKay
Guest
the thing about consistency, Luke, is that you've got to do it all the time..... Rough day yesterday for the good guys, and prior to Smith's innings down in Hobart, I'd made the comment to a couple of mates that the best performed player in the Test squad to that point was Ponting, only for the reason that he'd held a catch. By the end of the day he'd joined the list or unflatering numbers. Hopefully, today is a new day, for everyone's sake...
matt
Guest
I know the batting is the problem at the moment (and it seems the pitches around the country are trying to mimic English conditions) but why is no one other than this article talking up Trent Copeland for a spot. 8 games for NSW and 50 wickets with an average of 18 odd.