Australia’s policy of favouring pacemen who can top 140km/h is alive and well after prolific wicket-taker Jackson Bird was beaten to the Test squad by an underdone Nathan Coulter-Nile and a left-field selection in Scott Boland.
The retirements of Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris, together with injuries to Mitchell Starc, James Faulkner, Pat Cummins and Jason Behrendorff, has forced Australia to dig deep into its stockpile of fast bowlers.
Bird had appeared the obvious bowler to bring into the squad for the three-Test series against the West Indies, which starts at his home ground Bellerive Oval, where he has the remarkable first-class record of 71 wickets at 19.
His career first-class record is extremely impressive too, with 170 wickets at 24, while the swing bowler also is the current leading wicket-taker in the Sheffield Shield, with 18 wickets at 25.
At just 28, Bird has age on his side and was impressive in his three Tests, taking 13 wickets at 23 and scooping one man-of-the-match award. As far as resumes go, that is striking.
That he can’t get a place in Australia’s squad, despite so many quicks being injured or having retired, casts serious doubt on his international career.
So does the fact that he was overlooked in favour of two bowlers who, at the current time, do not have tremendous appeal.
That Coulter-Nile and Boland are capable of exceeding 140km/h, while Bird operates in the mid-130s, shapes as the deciding factor when you consider coach Darren Lehmann’s stated preference for sharp bowlers.
Coulter-Nile is a dynamic paceman who can shape first-class matches in a short period of time. He also has looked comfortable in international limited-overs cricket, snaring 37 wickets at an average of 25 from his 24 ODI and T20 matches.
But his first-class record at Bellerive Oval pales in comparison to Bird’s, with just seven wickets at the inflated average of 44.
More pertinently, though, Coulter-Nile is underdone, having not played a first-class match in more than eight months due to several injuries. It would appear a risky move by the selectors to ask him to debut in Tests on the back of zero match practice.
Boland, meanwhile, is not in the 12-man squad for the Hobart Test but is on standby should one or both of Josh Hazlewood and Peter Siddle not be fit to play.
There are concerns about Hazlewood’s heavy workload while Siddle suffered back soreness during the Adelaide Test.
The 26-year-old Victorian Boland is fresh from a match haul of 9-72 in his team’s Shield win over Western Australia. His long-term form is underwhelming though – prior to that standout match, he had averaged 33 with the ball across his 25 first-class matches.
Boland may well develop into a fine international prospect. He has not done enough though to justify his position in the Test queue ahead of Bird and South Australian swing bowler Chadd Sayers, who has 140 wickets at 25 in first-class cricket.
But Boland and Coulter-Nile are the type of paceman the Australian selectors prefer – aggressive bowlers who can push the speed gun above 140km/h. The subtler skills of Bird and Sayers lose out by comparison as far as Lehmann and co. are concerned.
Bird is not slow – he can reach 140km/h and bowls consistently in the 134-137km/h range, similar to the speeds of leading Test quicks Stuart Broad, Trent Boult, James Anderson and Tim Southee. Sayers is just medium pace, operating in the 125-130km/h zone.
Unfortunately for that pair, Lehmann has repeatedly emphasised the need for Australia’s Test pacemen to be able to rattle opponents with their speed.
The Australian coach made it clear soon after he took over that bowlers in the 125-135km/h bracket would probably be overlooked for Test selection.
“That’s a really big area for us in our bowling attack – you need to have speed against players these days,” Lehmann said late in 2013.
“Gone are the days when you can bowl 125km/h. 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.”
This policy would make it unlikely that Sayers will ever get a chance in Tests while Lehmann is coach. Bird is not without a hope given the selectors have been playing Hazlewood and Siddle who are no swifter than him.
Australia clearly favour playing two express quicks and one slower, frugal type, where possible, so Bird is competing with Hazlewood and Siddle for what typically will be just one place.
For the moment, pace is king.
Gaz
Guest
Love to see either Bird or Sayers get a go for the NZ tour. A bit of horses for courses. I didn't think we picked an attack for the last UK ashes to suit the conditions and NZ have similar conditions. You need bowlers that move the ball. Sayers has a great record on one of the flattest pitches in Australia, in the end I would take him to NZ. An ideal attack would be Starc, Cummins, Hazlewood & Sayers with Mitch Marsh in the mix. Unfortunately both Starc and Cummins (even more unlikely) due to injury. See how Bird goes, he has the attributes for NZ, so does Dorf and Paris from WA. The same reason I was hoping a few Ashes tours back Butterworth would get a go on these type of wickets. Pace is good but for some countries but there are a few tours i'd sacrifice that for some movement.
Jeremy
Guest
I've watched Sayers in several Shield matches and he is pretty no slouch with an old ball. I've seen him swing an older ball and even when the ball is not moving he has the ability to bowl good areas and move it off the pitch. His stats show that he is a more consistent performer at Shield level than many of his more fancied peers.
Chinmusick
Roar Rookie
I have to disagree. Stuart Broad never has to worry about an RSVP for my new years eve party. He's definitely a massive cocker spaniel. I rate him as one of the best bowlers from England that I can remember watching. He has proper Aussie style ticker and doesn't fold under pressure like a dodgy butterfly valve. Always leaves everything he has out there and I rate that. Bird should have been selected for the test, but I can only assume that the two men that they have selected were never a chance of playing in the first place. I'm hoping they haven't selected bird for that reason. They will surely play patto, hazlewood and siddle.
JohnB
Guest
Actually 204cm not 210 according to the cricket Australia site.
JohnB
Guest
The, it seems to me legitimate, concern with Bird is that his Australian figures are greatly boosted by how well he went in 2 seasons before 2013. http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/90/90184/f_Bowling_by_Season.html His figures for the current season are good, but really on the basis of one second innings haul in a match his team lost badly. He looked like being a very good bowler before being injured. He hasn't looked the same since. Has he got back to that point? Maybe, and let's hope he has or at least does, but you can't definitely say that from what he's done this year so far. You'd need to watch him - as the selectors have.
Peter Diddle
Guest
I flicked on the tv and siddle was bowling consistently at 126km/h. couldn't believe it. no wonder he wasn't getting a game for victoria. at least he got his 200th wicket because dont think he'll be around much longer unfortunately.
Don Freo
Guest
Now we can talk about ridiculous selections. BYO cricket pitch and ball.
english twizz
Guest
Broad just named in icc team of the year
Robbie
Guest
Under this policy Glenn McGrath would never get a game for Australia
Sameer Murthy
Roar Rookie
Just like Bollinger still has to pay for "hitting a wall" at Adelaide 2010, Bird's poor bowling during the 2013 Ashes at Durham seems to still be hurting him. I remember he struggled to support Harris, which allowed England to set up a decent 4th innings target which ultimately won them the series
Rellum
Roar Guru
Bird is a fantastic bowler who can get it up over 140 so with these selections Ronan I think his international career is done and dusted whilst the current selectors are in place
Alex L
Roar Rookie
Putting aside the "who cares it's the West Indies" part of thinking for a moment, the only spot up for grabs really is the one vacated by Starc being injured -- Siddle and Hazlewood both sit around the 130-135 mark most of the time, so I can understand the desire to bring in an express pace bowler in that third seamer position but there's nobody capable of real 150km/h pace out there, so choosing a bowler based on 5 km/h instead of swing and wickets isn't picking the best side.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
"And this other fallacy about the Bellerive greentop favouring him – Bird’s Shield average is better away from home." These are Bird's first-class bowling averages at various grounds: Bellerive - 19 MCG - 13 SCG - 17 Gabba - 18 Adelaide - 27 WACA - zero matches Bird's career first-class average in Australia is incredible at just 20 - his overall average is blown out by the fact he's struggled badly in Eng in county cricket and on Aussie tour matches because he just can't exploit the Dukes ball. Bird's FC record: In Australia - 133 wickets at 20 In England - 37 wickets at 48
Tom from Perth
Roar Rookie
He looks the goods. Brilliant in the shorter forms for WA so far, and showing real promise in the Shield.
danno
Guest
I'm with David Saker, 'ridiculous' NCN selection.
bigmick01
Guest
So the pecking order looks kinda like this? : Starc, Hazelwood, Siddle??, Pattinson, Cummins, Faulkner?, Behrendorff, NCN. But does anyone really know?
Bucko
Guest
If the attack for the Hobart Test was Hazlewood, Pattinson & Bird, wouldn't be too bad. I like that attack. Siddle has a couple niggles and didn't really do much for Aus in the Adelaide test. 3 wickets for the game?
LennyP
Guest
No wonder Australian batsman can't play swing, the bowlers are encouraged to bowl fast first . Time to mix it up selectors , I'd love to watch a good swing/seam bowler working in tandem with an outright quick .
Disco
Guest
'NCN' The Legend: brought to you by Shaun Marsh's player agent
Rob na Champassak
Roar Guru
Because that's not true, Don? For the record: http://stats.espncricinfo.com/sheffield-shield-2015-16/engine/records/bowling/most_wickets_career.html?id=10265;type=tournament