The Cricket Australia XI need more experience

After two brutal defeats from their opening two matches, the debut season for the recently launched Cricket Australia XI could not have gotten off to a worse start.

While the side was supposed to be the greatest collection of young guns since Jon Bon Jovi and Lou Diamond Phillips graced our screens, their performance to date shows shortcomings in the selection policy.

Providing a group of young players to compete against senior professionals was a great idea in theory, but in practice the side’s lack of experience has thus far only resulted in embarrassing results.

Coming up against New South Wales and Victoria, two of the strongest sides in the competition, was always going to lead to heavy defeats. However, there is a difference between a learning experience and damaging a player’s confidence.

Recently, AFL expansion sides Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney battled their way through defeat after defeat in their early years, but with one key difference: both playing groups contained a number of experienced senior players. Receiving support, encouragement and advice from senior teammates out on the field is worlds apart from similar information provided by coaches and analytics gurus after the match.

Playing against battle-hardened state professionals is great experience for these kids, especially with the recent influx of international squad members following the cancellation of the Bangladesh series. However, the benefits of this experience need to be balanced with the potential impact that could occur from a lack of adequate support for the playing group.

The solution is straightforward. The playing XI for next year’s tournament must include at least two players over 25. Someone like Jonathan Wells, who recently moved from Tasmania to Western Australia, would surely rather be playing these matches and pushing his case for state selection, instead of running drinks and towels out to his teammates.

While the team will never have the opportunity to offer a wheelbarrow of cash to the equivalent of a Gary Ablett, adding some senior players will provide some wise counsel, while pushing training and other preparation to a higher level. It will also keep fringe players fit and match ready, which is an added bonus for the states heading into a long summer of cricket.

With a period of regeneration taking place for our national sides, there will be plenty of opportunities for the next generation of players at state, and possibility national, level in coming years. Ushering them through this period of gaining experience and developing confidence to succeed at the next level is vital to the ongoing success of our state and national setups.

Adding a few experienced hands to the Cricket Australia XI will only improve the team’s chances of success on many levels.