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The number one Test bowler Vernon Philander would not have got a game for Australia under Darren Lehmann based on the Aussie coach’s comments this week.
Lehmann revealed that the ability to bowl sharply was now non-negotiable when the Australian selectors considered prospective Test pacemen.
Explaining why former Test player Doug Bollinger and West Australian tearaway Nathan Coulter-Nile had been the favoured pace backups this summer, he said their speed had been the deciding factor.
“That’s a really big area for us in our bowling attack – you need to have speed against players these days,” Lehmann said.
“Gone are the days when you can bowl 125kmh. You need to be 140 if you possibly can. Speed’s a really big issue…we’re looking for blokes who bowl with some pace.”
Given South African Philander bowls closer to 125kmh than 140kmh it is fair to assume Lehmann probably wouldn’t have supported him being picked for a Test debut were he an Aussie.
Lehmann’s comments also suggest the likes of Chadd Sayers and Trent Copeland are unlikely to play Tests for Australia while he is coach.
In February, Lehmann’s side will have to face up to Philander on his favourite ground, Newlands in Cape Town.
Earlier, this year, Philander took 5-7 as he ripped the heart out of New Zealand at that venue.
His average speed across those five wicket-taking deliveries was only 129kmh.
His pace was similar when he scythed through Australia on Test debut just over two years ago at the same ground.
Philander snared 5-15 as Australia were rolled for a humiliating total of 47 in their second innings.
While Lehmann’s statements would have pleased sharp young bowlers like Coulter-Nile and Josh Hazlewood, they must have been horribly disheartening for players like Sayers and Copeland.
Since the start of last summer, Sayers has been comfortably the best-performed bowler outside the Test side, with 81 first-class wickets at an average of 20 for South Australia and Australia A.
What makes that record even more impressive is that he is based on the country’s most batsman-friendly pitch, Adelaide Oval.
Like Philander, he bowls at about 130kmh and defeats batsmen with a canny blend of swing, movement off the pitch and a ruthlessly consistent line and length.
Copeland, meanwhile, is 5kmh slower still and has been completely forgotten since making a solid but unspectacular entry to Test cricket on benign decks in Sri Lanka in August 2011.
No fewer than ten pacemen have been picked ahead of him since – Peter Siddle, Ryan Harris, Mitchell Johnson, Ben Hilfenhaus, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, John Hastings, Jackson Bird and James Faulkner.
Undoubtedly, the pace and menace of Mitchell Johnson has played a gigantic role in Australia’s trouncing of England this summer.
It is understandable that Lehmann and the Australian selectors would be attracted to budding bowlers who can intimidate batsman with their speed.
But Peter Siddle continues to be a hugely valuable member of the Test side despite now bowling largely in the 130-135kmh range.
Are the selectors wrong then to do as Lehmann is suggesting and discount any prospective Test pacemen who cannot nudge the speed gun up towards 140kmh?
Could Australia miss out on a Philander-like gem due to this addiction to speed?