While watching the current series on a bad Indian internet site, I can’t help but feel reminded of a time not so long ago when the selectors were transfixed on selecting people for their value of playing two or more roles in a game, and not just one well!
When the desire to unearth a genuine all-rounder was greater than solving the Azaria Chamberlain case.
Yes, it was the years 1982-1987, those barren but often fond years of nearly-all-rounders Trevor Chappell, Shaun Graf, Greg Matthews, Peter sleep, Wayne Phillips, Simon O’donnell and Ken Macleay.
It was a time when we were adamant that the next Keith Miller was just around the corner!
It was only when the selectors persisted with Steve Waugh later on that we started to see someone with talents in both areas, but that candle was blown out when Waugh’s shoulder started to wear away quicker than the flavour of 80s bubblegum.
I can’t help but feel Watson, Henriques, Wade and Maxwell hark back to those times in the 80s.
The current selection panel could take a leaf out of the 1988-1993 panel who gave that search away in favour of players just doing one thing well!
Taking three wickets in an innings or scoring 45-plus is surely better than what seems to be happening in India and, sadly, what will happen in the Ashes Tests.
Test cricket is littered with so called all-rounders who either make runs then bowl badly in the same game or visa versa.
It’s just too hard to replicate what a player like Maxwell can do in Twenty20 game in a Test match, and that seems to be the problem!
We need to let go of selecting an average batsman because he can bowl a few overs, and an average bowler who can bat at eight.
They will always fail at the weaker one.
A genuine all-rounder only ever comes along once in 20-30 years, if that, and hoping bowlers like Pattinson, Starc and Johnson will turn into all-rounders is the same as hoping Warner will turn into a decent legspinner or Quiney will swing the ball at 135 kph.
Let’s give up on bit part players for Tests, select six genuine batsmen, a genuine wiketkeeper, one genuine spinner and three genuine quicks.
who cares if the tail is long when we can bowl them out for a similar score. T20 players will never perform as well in Tests.
Its a 40-over game versus a 450-over game!
And then maybe, just maybe, a genuine all-rounder will come along to surprise us all.
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