This idea may seem crazy, but it may work. It is as simple as this. Drop a batsman for Ryan Harris.
India’s newer batsmen were not comfortable against Pattinson, Siddle and Hilfenhaus, and the legends had their moments but struggled at times. There is no way in hell you would drop any of the three pacemen, and Lyon, despite only picking up one wicket at the MCG, has been in great form and is needed on a spinning Sydney wicket.
But why should we bring in Harris? Harris has done nothing wrong at all in the baggy green, with 35 wickets at 21 in eight tests. He has the ability to swing the ball and also the ability to use reverse swing. Alongside the other three it would be one of the most explosive and in-form bowling attacks Australia has used since Lee, McGrath, Gillespie and Kasprowicz.
There are question marks over Harris’s fitness and whether a couple of T20s is enough of a fitness test, but from all reports he has been bowling well and looks fit. Also if he did break down, the bowling wouldn’t suffer as much as it would if he was part of a three-man pace attack.
Our batting is struggling enough but maybe this is want it needs. More responsibility on the top six. Which brings us to another point: who would be dropped? Warner, Ponting, Hussey and Clarke are all safe. Cowan had a great debut and is safe as well. Which leaves Marsh.
He was very disappointing at the G, and while it is not ideal dropping yet another batsman for the future, he is the only obvious candidate, and we can’t have him batting like he did. I have nothing against Marsh, I think he is a great batsman, but for this to work he would have to go back and play some Big Bash cricket. Obviously this isn’t ideal if he was to be brought back into the Test side for Perth or Adelaide, but that is a whole other issue.
Siddle, Pattinson and Hilfenhaus all batted exceptionally, amassing 133 runs in both innings, which in the end was one of the reasons we won. No doubt they can make more runs than this. Siddle has never batted so well in his career. Pattinson had a great Test with the bat making some important runs, and Hilfenhaus has showed a bit with the bat and has previously batted well for Australia, including a classy 50.
Lyon is also capable of double figures and has shown he is not a dead set number 11. Harris is also a very capable batsman with a first-class average just under 20, and six 50’s with a highest score of 94. That isn’t bad. None of the pace bowlers are tens or elevens. Siddle, Harris and Pattinson are numbers eights and Hilfenhaus is a very capable number nine.
I would be very confident that these five could make 100 an innings, which may not be enough, but I’m also confident they could make even more. Of course, they may not have to make that many if they all bowl well.
If Harris is to come in it would need the selectors to make a gutsy decision. It would probably be one of the most risky moves by the Test team in a long time, but it could have maximum reward. Realistically, though, the chance of it happening remains small.
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.
Probably the most popular Aussie in Wales, Marnus Labuschagne rarely lets down the fans at his Glamorgan "second home". The Test batting maestro was…
RCB were initially questioned after bringing Maxi on with the new rock. It worked a treat as he dismissed Ruturaj Gaikwad first ball.
Faf du Plessis took one of the catches of the tournament as Royal Challengers Bengaluru qualified for the IPL playoffs with a 27-run win.…
Jonny Bairstow wants to never mention it again and Alex Carey got sick of hearing about it but the firestorm surrounding their dramatic incident…
Arjun Tendulkar fell victim to the humidity as he cramped up, but he wished he had taken himself off as he delivered two gifts…
New Zealand took 28 years to win a Test match, finally triumphing in 1956. There were plenty of skilled individuals before that but not a complete team.
