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The ongoing selection instability in Australian cricket is crazy, and the new era that beckoned in the wake of the Ashes humiliation and subsequent Argus report has failed to materialise.
Unfortunately Pat Howard as High Performance Director and the new National Selection Panel of Inverarity, Marsh, Bichel, Arthur (coach), and Clarke (captain) have not seized the opportunity to truly re-invigorate the Test team.
In the wake of Ponting’s and Hussey’s retirements there is nothing to be done but bite the bullet and accept some defeats in the name of forging a team over the next two years.
Here are the players I believe the NSP should be building the team around.
Batsmen
I think I’ve floated half a dozen different batting lineups on these forums and the more I think about it the more I change my mind.
The pivotal issue in sorting out order is the question of Shane Watson. I have thought long and hard on the issue and have come down on the position that Watson should not play Test cricket for Australia. Here is why:
– He has missed more than 50 percent of the Tests since his debut. Watson has played 38 matches of the possible 88 in that time. He has probably been dropped a couple of times but the majority of those absences are injury enforced.
– He is Australia’s most valuable limited overs cricketer as both an opener and an all-rounder. Australia needs to get the best use out of him if we are serious about being the best in the world in all three forms of the game.
– His Test record as a batsman is not good enough to warrant a spot in the top six on merit. He averages 37.03 from 69 innings with only two centuries. As an all-rounder that is acceptable, but not as a top order batsman and he cannot be considered and all-rounder if he cannot stay fit to bowl.
Shane Watson is simply not consistent enough to warrant continually chopping and changing the batting order for.
My evaluation of him is that he is a genuine game-breaker but he is a luxury, not a necessity, and far more effective in limited overs matches than Test cricket. He is the Simon O’Donnell of the new millennium and should not be in the Test lineup.
So what we do is decide on openers – Warner and Cowan are clearly the preferred partnership of the NSP and with me showing Watson the door out of the Test side, Cowan’s dozen Tests of experience are not to be discarded lightly.
He is improving and so is retained at the top of the order. Warner has the potential to be a great opener for Australia but he needs to bring his reckless stroke-making under control (he often makes poor shot selections for an opener).
He clearly has the ability to do this, to play a long grafting innings as well as a demolition job in a session so he is retained as well.
At number three we have the tailor-made replacement for the old David Boon role in Usman Khawaja. He has the game to dominate attacks but he is also a classic technically correct batsman and is more likely to score at 40-50 runs per 100 balls and anchor one end of a partnership.
He also has good captaincy experience at under-19 level (in a team that included Warner, Wade and Bird) and the 2012 Chairman’s XI and could turn into a good asset for Clarke with more experience.
Phil Hughes shuffles down one spot to number four. He was rightly dropped in 2011 but has gone away, rebuilt his technique and is back in imperious form and should be the mainstay at the top of the Australian order for many years to come.
He is a more attacking player than Khawaja and so bats in the middle order with Clarke.
Clarke is currently the best batsman in the world and stays put at number five where he is clearly enjoying his batting.
The number six spot would go to Joe Burns from Queensland with Alex Doolan from Tasmania as the backup batsman in the squad.
Depending on the opposition the number six spot could also go to an all-rounder, however with Watson cut from the Test lineup the only allrounder possibilities are Glenn Maxwell (off spin) and Mitchell Marsh (medium pace) and neither is ready for Test cricket yet.
I would not include an all-rounder at all (unlike Arthur I consider them to be luxuries not necessities in Test teams) and instead rely on Siddle, Pattinson, Starc and Cutting to contribute with the bat.
Wicketkeeper
Wade has been performing well, although lacking some consistency with the bat and his glovework to spinners is not as sharp as it should be (Healy in his analysis seeming to think that he is guilty of shot-watching rather than focussing on the ball).
Unless he gets injured (or fails in every innings of the India tour) his position is safe.
As a backup Tim Paine is a lock assuming he is fit. If he is injured then the next in line spot is wide open although Nevill and Triffit are probably the front runners. In a pinch either of Wade or Paine could be played as a specialist bat at number six.
Bowlers
Spinners first, with Nathan Lyon having the first pick spot locked up. Although Doherty is the Australian Twenty20 spinner, he won’t make the Test team.
Krejza and Hauritz have Test experience but are very unlikely to earn a recall. Maxwell is also a possible candidate as an allrounder, but as mentioned above he is not ready yet.
The more likely candidate for a second spinner is Adam Zampa, who is a leg spinner. He isn’t really ready yet but is worth taking on tour, he could be our next great hope.
Pace attack next, and Siddle is the leader and a lock for one spot. Bird is a very good new ball option and should be the second picked.
That leaves one spot open. The young tyros Pattinson and Cummins are the candidates for the spot and should be rotated.
Cutting and Starc are the two fringe bowlers who should be in the squad and in the mix for a spot if someone needs to be rested.
Starc has so far proven to be a limited overs specialist but is worth persisting with in the Test arena given his great ability to swing the ball at pace from a great height (keep in mind he is only 22).
Cutting meanwhile has been one of the best Shield bowlers for the last four years and is only just bettered by Bird statistically.
The issue with this lineup is that Cummins is broken and has been for two years, he cannot be seriously considered (not when I have dropped Watson for injury concerns).
That opens the door for Mitchell Johnson. Since his recall this summer he has performed very well and deserves to retain his spot and show the doubters (myself included) that he is now mentally tougher and can perform with consistency.
Hilfenhaus would not make my squad, he has never really impressed me despite his previous performance in England; he just isn’t as good as all the other options.
I will post their stats in the comments section for some statistical backup.
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