Trent Copeland, 25, did not set Sri Lanka alight with brilliant performances in the recently concluded Test series, but he showed promise of things to come. He could keep Sri Lanka’s world-class stroke-players Kumar Sangakkara, Tillekeratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene quiet.
I saw some similarities between Copeland and a young Glenn McGrath.
I was surprised to learn yesterday that Copeland was excluded from both the Twenty20 internationals and one-day international squads for the important tour of South Africa starting on 13th October.
To keep runs down are vital in limited-overs matches are vitally important and he will be missed.
The inclusion of Brett Lee at 34 is another surprise.
I saw him bowl in the Champion’s League Twenty20 match at Hyderabad for Kolkata Knight Riders against South Australia Redbacks on Tuesday and he was hit from pillar to post by the Redback batsmen to have figures of 1-42 in four overs.
Lee out, Copeland in, I say.
The injury to Tim Paine gives Matthew Wade from Victoria an opportunity to play his first Twenty20 international.
Like Paine, Wade was also born in Tasmania and had to move to Victoria to get a chance to play first-class cricket and ODIs.
The retirement of Brad Haddin from Twenty20 scene and injury to Paine has given Wade a good opportunity to prove his credentials.
The inclusion of Western Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh, 19, in the T20 squad is pleasing. It seems only yesterday that his elder brother Shaun, 28, had scored a century in his Test debut in Sri Lanka.
Last year the new WA coach Mickey Arthur had proclaimed that Mitchell Marsh had the potential to be a Jacques Kallis type all-rounder, batting in the top five and acting as the fourth seamer.
Indeed, big shoes to fill!
But then this has been a month for the Marshes as their Dad Geoff was recently appointed the Sri Lankan coach.
If selected in a Twenty20 international match, the Marshes will become second pair of Australian brothers to play together after Mike and David Hussey.
National Selection Panel Chairman Andrew Hilditch commented: “We consider we have picked an extremely strong Twenty20 squad, which has a good balance of experience and exciting young talent. There is flexibility in the squad to deal with conditions in South Africa.”
One wonders why Shane Watson is vice-captain in both Twenty20 squad (to Victoria’s Cameron White) and ODI squad (to Michael Clarke).
About time Watson is made captain of the Twenty20 squad.
Here is the Twenty20 squad to take on South Africa at Cape Town on 13th October and at Johannesburg on the 16th:
Cameron White, Shane Watson, Doug Bollinger, Patrick Cummins. Aaron Finch, David Hussey, Brett Lee, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Stephen O’Keefe, James Pattinson, Steven Smith, Matthew Wade and David Warner.
There are big hitters, starting from Warner and Watson at the top to White, Finch and Smith in the middle. I often wonder what selectors have got against Callum Ferguson?
But bowling will have problems against seasoned South African batsmen. Lee is long in the tooth while quickies Cummins, 18, and Pattinson, 21, have not quite “cut” their teeth. It will be too much for Doug Bollinger and Watson.
Just as well the erratic Mitchell Johnson is omitted from the Twenty20 squad.
I am hopeful slow left-arm orthodox O’Keefe will do well on the tour, but leggie Smith is a lottery ticket.
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