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O'Keefe should have been picked for Adelaide

Steve O'Keefe has been dropped. (AFP/ Marwan Naamani)
Roar Guru
9th December, 2014
12

There was a brief period of time where the discontent evaporated, and the Australian selectors and fans alike seemed relaxed with the choice of Nathan Lyon as the Test spinner.

It was a brief oasis of time, as the contentious void left in the post Shane Warne apocalypse seemed filled.

After scalping a five-for on debut, things seemed positive. But the calm would only last as long as Lyon continued to pillage wickets.

>>FOLLOW THE LIVE SCORES OF THE AUSTRALIA VS INDIA TEST MATCH

With only the one spot up for grabs there would always be pressure. The yardstick that Australians measure their spinner has been a tall order of late.

And so it seems, now Lyon’s spot is back in contention. To be honest, fair enough. The last 12 months have seen rather meagre returns. He has played second fiddle to a stellar pace attack on quick wickets, and failed to adapt to pitches where the Aussies needed him to punch through the middle order.

My confusion, though, is how has Stephen O’Keefe been omitted from the Test Team for the Adelaide Test? At this moment, there is no spinner more warranted of a place than he. No spinner has taken more wickets in Australia over the last two years. Word.

Besides being the leading spin-scalper of the last two years, only Chad Sayers is ahead of him in Shield wickets over the past 24 months. The Australian selectors continually make points on saying that form is the key to inclusion. Perhaps they’re using different locks…

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We know that Australian pitches are a challenging place for spinners, particularly finger spinners. With that in mind it honestly baffles me why we don’t look to our most consistent performer when making the selection.

O’Keefe and Lyon have had two matches of late where they’ve gone head to head. Both in Dubai, wearing the baggy green, and in the Shield match at Brisbane, they bowled alongside one another in the same conditions, against the same opposition. The count, six wickets to three, advantage Steven O’Keefe. Not great returns for either, but one-sided for sure.

His slow, left-arm orthodox bowling is also the perfect foil to the Indian batting line up. With the exception of Shikhar Dhawan, they’re all right handed batsmen who would be less comfortable with the ball spinning away from them. It shouldn’t be the reason for selecting O’Keefe, but it’s definitely an added perk.

Warning: I am liable to go postal should people continue to throw out ridiculous ‘hail-Mary’ spin inclusions, this really is a two-horse race at the moment.

Cameron Boyce, James Muirhead and Adam Zampa are all quality, upcoming leggies. However, throwing in these inexperienced and undercooked youngsters is the exact mentality that has seen a record number of debutants over the last five years.

Boyce seems to be the favoured one among roughie gamblers, but while I’m sure he’ll come good, his first class returns just don’t provide enough proof that he has what it takes at this stage in the longer format of the game. Reward those who take the wickets.

That reward should go to O’Keefe. I only hope that Santa and Rod Marsh have received the letters I wrote.

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