Followers of Sheffield Shield cricket in Australia will be surprised at the inclusion of Stephen O’Keefe in Australia’s Test squad to face Pakistan.
Not because his talent and performances don’t warrant it, but because the fact he hadn’t been picked before suggested he may have been out of favour with the selectors.
It begs the question as to whether Cricket Australia and the selectors feel he’s a solid option and hope for the future, or a Hail Mary attempt to save face on the turning Arabian pitches. Yet, when you dig a little deeper, his inclusion may just be what’s needed for an Aussie Test side.
Nearly 30, O’Keefe has previously represented Australia in the shortest form of the game, with only moderate success in seven Twenty20 appearances in 2010-11. It seemed at the time he was being groomed for the longer format of the game, but just like Peter Forrest, the spot never eventuated.
Despite solid form for NSW, O’Keefe was left on the shelf as the likes of Xavier Doherty, Michael Beer, Ashton Agar and Nathan Lyon were all picked ahead of him. In the case of the latter three, with minimal experience by comparison. Yet here he is.
For the tour of the UAE, the Australian selectors appear likely to leave O’Keefe on the bench, and have Glenn Maxwell and Steve Smith support Lyon, but O’Keefe must play in the UAE, and here’s why.
He’s a left arm orthodox. I know it seems like a strange thing to hone in on, but just like mixing right and left arm paceman, it’s important to pick the style of spinner. The Pakistani side is littered with right hand batsman, and O’Keefe will have the ball turning away from them.
Rangana Herath has only just finished obliterating the Pakistani batsman in Sri Lanka, and for that very reason. If he plays, O’Keefe will thrive against the righties and could very well end up topping the wicket tally for the Aussies in dry, spinning conditions.
His temperament will be a great addition to a young and fiery Australian side. While his experience is mainly at a domestic level, O’Keefe has captained NSW at times and has a solid cricketer’s mind. He has the ability to sum up the situation and play a style of cricket that suits.
Most sides travelling to the UAE pick two specialist spinners, and Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman have been the leading spin twins in international cricket for some time. The O’Keefe-Lyon combination have played together at state level, and their ability to bowl in partnership will go a long way to securing an Aussie win abroad.
O’Keefe can bat too. That may seem like less of an issue, given the quality of batting our tail has produced of late. However, given the fact that Australia will be short one quality batsman, they can only afford a short tail. That being said, it’s not so much O’Keefe’s run scoring ability that warrants inclusion, but his ability to occupy the crease.
He looks to play more like an established batsman than some of our other swash-buckling all-rounders. This will be an important attribute, as our batting line-up is aggressive and does not have as much experience in the trying conditions the UAE will provide.
O’Keefe was the top wicket taker of Shield Cricket last season, in a tournament dominated by quick bowlers. The only other slow bowler in the top 10 for wicket scalps this summer was Johan Botha and his slightly suspect balls. Form breeds confidence, and O’Keefe’s cool head, solid talent, and a need to impress to salvage his international career means he will be an important pick in the Australian final XI.
Druisile
Guest
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Gareth Kidd
Roar Guru
The stats tell a damning story. I think at the end of the day CA were trying to get the miracle of Warnie by going to the unknown instead of working on someone like SOK. Lyon has been good of late, but I still think O'Keefe will trash him given the opportunity in the UAE.
Armchair Expert
Guest
Don't stop there Chris, Hauritz and Cassen both averaged 44+ with the ball in Sheffield Shield and were considered more worthy to play test cricket than O'Keefe and even Warne and McGill both averaged 34+ with the ball in the Shield.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Calling his returns for NSW in recent years just "solid' is kind of underselling it. Here's a comparison of Shield stats with all the other spinners picked for Australia in recent years. I'd suggest "solid" returns would mean he was at least on-par with all those selected ahead of him and a little unlucky, but a quick read of the figures show him in a class of his own with daylight second and his continued non-selection has been barely short of criminal: O’Keefe 37 Matches 116 wickets at 24.95 Lyon 16 Matches 37 wickets at 47.64 Beer 23 Matches 57 wickets at 37.42 Doherty 58 Matches 143 wickets at 40.72 Maxwell 20 Matches 30 wickets at 36.10 Agar 15 Matches 40 wickets at 43.17 McGain 26 Matches 86 wickets at 34.58 S Smith 32 Matches 39 wickets at 50.61 (he was picked as a spinner first time around) Krejza 43 matches 81 wickets at 49.01 I think Lyon has done enough playing for Australia to continue to be picked, and he's still young in spinner terms and getting better every year, but O'Keefe should have been given a shot long before Lyon ever made his debut.
Armchair Expert
Guest
A the end of the day ,if he plays, the best way to judge his performances will be to compare them with Lyon's, if he also makes a few runs, that will be seen as a bonus.
bearfax
Guest
On that point Rellum I agree strongly
Rellum
Roar Guru
Yeah ok, I did not word that very well. For me personally a pass mark is not putting in a shocker Chris Matthews style. I would be reticent to judge him a pass or fail even if he plays all three tests. The above describes what I think the general public and press would consider a pass mark. Players are under immense pressure to dominate straight away which I think we agree is unfair on them.
bearfax
Guest
Marsh is impressive and looks set for a test place in future, but he's not up to a fit Watson's standard by a long shot yet and as indicated I prefer Maxwell at 6 if Watson is unavailable.
bearfax
Guest
So you're saying that no matter how well he plays, if his performance doesnt result in a win its no pass mark. Seems a little excessive dont you think. All he can do is do his best and do his bit for the team. They could win and he doesnt play well and they could lose and he plays well. The outcome of the game is determined surely by the team as a whole, not his individual efforts only.
Julian King
Roar Guru
Watson as third seamer is appealing if we're confident he won't break down. I think selectors view SOK as a partnership bowler. A couple of wickets at 2 and a bit an over, I think, is a reasonable expectation.
Bob Sims
Guest
Australia has two fast bowling all-rounders in the squad in Watson and Marsh. Even if only one of those play in the final eleven (with Marsh likely to miss out), choosing two specialist quicks and two spinners would result in a very well balanced side. Rogers, Warner, Hughes (in preference to Doolan), Clarke, Smith, Watson, Haddin, Johnson, O'Keeffe, Siddle, Lyon. Doolan the middle order back-up, Marsh back-up for Watson, Starc the back-up quick and Maxwell the wild card. Five front line bowlers and the team bats down to nine.
Rellum
Roar Guru
He might turn it a bit more on those decks. For me a pass mark is to be seen as contributing to a win. Taking a few wickets or putting pressure on at the other end would be the goal for him.
bearfax
Guest
Doing a good job of containing scoring and a few wickets for the match would be a pass mark in my opinion. He's not a kid and has captained FC sides so he knows his limitations and what's expected. I suspect he wont do anything more than play like he does at FC level.
Julian King
Roar Guru
SOK has many admirers on these forums. Whilst his selection may be long overdue given his solid first class numbers, we need to clearly outline our expectations of him should he make his test debut. What would you deem a pass mark? 5 wickets? 3 wickets an innings at 3 an over? No wickets at less than 2 an over? I fear, if selected, O'Keefe may be overburdened by expectation.
bearfax
Guest
I think you understate O'Keefe's Shield performances. His averages are almost as good as Warne overall and in fact last year he was nabbing wickets cheaper and far better than 90% of the fast bowlers. I dont know how he will perform on pitches overseas, but O'Keefe is a hidden diamond and should have been selected far sooner than he has been. I think a lot of Lyon and believe he has done well as Australia's spin option. But whereas he is a good support bowler for our fast battery of bowlers, O'Keefe has the potential of being a primary strike bowler, a game winner. Add to that an almost all rounder ability with the bat and you have a potential test star who has been, like a number of up and comers, shabbily treated by previous selection panels. It seems finally some of these selectors are selecting with their head rather than their heart for a change.
Chui
Guest
Maybe it's all down to a different selction panel and, in particular, Chairman.