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Australia are enjoying an astounding summer. But with seven players in the side aged 31 or older, preparations must be made for generational transition.
Australia have a golden opportunity to blood two players in the final Ashes Test.
Alex Doolan should replace a rested Shane Watson to have a shootout with George Bailey for the number six spot in the batting lineup for February’s tour of South Africa.
Nathan Coulter-Nile, who has been on standby for the past three Tests, should be offered the opportunity to prove he deserves to be a reserve paceman on that same tour.
Injury-prone pair Harris and Watson both looked lame at the MCG.
That is not surprising given their wretched history with injuries.
Ryan Harris had previously never managed more than two Tests on the trot without picking up a serious injury.
He has now played eight in relatively quick succession.
Watson has taken part in 14 Tests since his last injury, breaking his previous record of nine Tests in the 2009-10 summer.
There is next to nothing to be gained from playing he or Harris in Sydney.
Watson should be allowed to rest his tender groin, while Harris’ troublesome knee is also being compounded by a foot complaint.
Both players would no doubt be keen to be part of a potential whitewash at the SCG.
But Australia must take a longer-term view – both in regards to the longevity of that pair and to the need to prepare for generational change.
Given age, health or form concerns, there are no guarantees that older players Watson, Harris, Brad Haddin, Chris Rogers or George Bailey will take part in the next Ashes in England in 18 months’ time.
That’s without even taking into consideration skipper Michael Clarke’s degenerative back condition.
Australia cannot afford to have several of those players fall apart, be dropped or retire in the lead up to the next Ashes.
The retirements of legends Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey in quick succession about seven months before the winter Ashes left the side in a deep hole.
The selectors were clearly caught unaware and unsuccessfully scrambled to find replacements.
The likes of Usman Khawaja, Phil Hughes, Moises Henriques and Glenn Maxwell were all tried and discarded in a matter of months.
If they are not more clever this time around, the Aussies could soon find themselves in a similar frenzied state trying to fill spots left by the departure of older players.
Australia only have 12 Tests between the end of this series and the next Ashes in England in 18 months:
– A Three-Test series in South Africa starting in February.
– A Three-Test series vs Pakistan in the UAE in October.
– A Four-Test series at home vs India starting next December.
– A Two-Test series in the West Indies in May 2015.
The first three of those series will be very difficult against the countries likely to be the three other highest-ranked Test teams when the standings are recalculated next week.
South Africa are a dominant cricketing force, Pakistan have the world’s best spinner and several incisive quicks, and India are resurgent thanks to young blood.
The comparatively pressure-free environment of the upcoming SCG Test represents the perfect situation in which to ease Doolan and Coulter-Nile into Test cricket.
Should Bailey fail to impress again at the SCG he should not be in the starting XI for the first Test against South Africa starting at Centurion in six weeks.
The Tasmanian captain has looked ill at ease against England’s quicks so far this series and would face far tougher opposition against the Proteas in Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel.
A calm, circumspect top order batsman with a tight, simple technique, Doolan is best suited to the longest form of the game.
Since the start of last summer, he has made 1634 runs at 45 in first-class matches for Tasmania and Australia A.
His class shone though in November last year when he struck an imperious 161 not out for Australia A against a South African attack boasting both Steyn and Philander, currently the number one and two ranked bowlers in Test cricket.
Importantly for Australia, Doolan could also be an option further down the track for the cursed position at first drop, which is where he bats for Tasmania.
Chairman of selectors John Inverarity said yesterday Doolan had been closely considered for inclusion in the Test side at the start of this summer.
Coulter-Nile, meanwhile, is in contention for a debut this week largely because of injuries to Test quicks James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Jackson Bird and Pat Cummins.
He is however, clearly rated very highly by the selectors.
Possessed of a strong, high action which allows him to generate considerable pace and bounce, Coulter-Nile is also handy with the bat and a sensational fieldsman.
With Pattinson and Bird likely to push for spots in the squad for South Africa via their comebacks in the Big Bash League, it would be valuable to have a look at Coulter-Nile in the Test environment.
Resting Harris and Watson would not be a move to reinstate the much-maligned ‘rotation policy’.
It would be about protecting two valuable players from a comparatively inconsequential Test while starting the crucial process of unearthing the next wave of cricketers who will soon be required to take the Australian team forward.