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With a new leader and potentially a new ethos, the Australian Test team is in transition.
Steve Smith is Australia’s glue this summer. If he does not fire I struggle to find another bat, other than David Warner, who will make a big score.
My first Test XI has changed since the last time I wrote an article on this issue. It reads Steve Smith (C) David Warner, Ed Cowan, Joe Burns, Usman Khawaja, Mitchell Marsh, Peter Nevill, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Johnson. This team will be youthful and full of enthusiasm.
The other players who will also be in the frame throughout the series against New Zealand are Peter Siddle, James Pattinson (for the pink-ball Test), Cam Bancroft and Nic Maddinson.
The loss of Chris Rogers, and his ability to hang around and consume time at the crease, is why I have chosen Cowan over Bancroft.
The pink ball will be in use for the second Test, and this will bring a new element to Test cricket. A late declaration could potentially be game-changing – South Australia lost 3 for 3 late in the day’s play after NSW declared during the Sheffield Shield this week. The ball, being more like a white ball, will also help players such as Starc and Johnson, and Pattinson could be handy for that reason.
The team that they put out on the Gabba in the first Test may not be there for the whole summer, but it will be super exciting to see cricket back on our TV screens.
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