With all interest gone from the Test series against the West Indies, attention is turning to the upcoming Test tour of New Zealand. Of particular interest will be Australia’s choice of pacemen on likely English-style slow, seaming pitches.
Under the guidance of coach Darren Lehmann, Australia famously have adopted a speed-first policy when picking their quicks. Lehmann has seen on consecutive Ashes tours, however, that pace is not a significant attribute on slower decks.
Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc and James Pattinson all bowled with hurrying speed at times over the past two series in England. Yet none of them were as consistently effective in the English conditions as slower, more accurate types like Stuart Broad, James Anderson and Peter Siddle.
For their two Tests in New Zealand, Australia can expect slow, seaming surfaces similar to those on which they floundered in this year’s Ashes.
Like most international teams, the Kiwis aren’t afraid to tailor their pitches to suit the home side, and no style of pitch would give them a greater advantage than a sluggish, green track.
Not only would such a surface reduce the value of the Australian attack’s extra pace, it could potentially expose once more the poor defensive techniques of the visiting batsmen.
In the recent three-Test series in Australia, it wasn’t until the third Test that New Zealand’s bowlers had any success against the Australian batsmen.
Not surprisingly, it was an English-style seaming deck at Adelaide Oval which rejuvenated the Kiwi quicks, Trent Boult in particular.
A masterful and typically laser-accurate swing bowler, Boult is a terrifying prospect in such conditions. Across his 18 Tests in England and New Zealand, Boult has snared 83 wickets at 24, including four five-wicket hauls.
If the bright-green pitch served up in this week’s second Test against New Zealand is any indication, Australia will face demanding conditions in February.
These expected conditions probably won’t affect the selection of the Australian batting order for that series, but it may – and should – have an influence on the pacemen they select.
Australia will be without in-form strike bowler Mitchell Starc, while the retired Johnson won’t be present either. However the latter’s absence has paved the way for the return of Siddle, who was so effective on a slow, seaming deck at The Oval in August, taking 6-67 from 37 overs.
Siddle’s loss of pace has robbed him of penetration, making him an average-at-best option in many conditions these days.
But he is exactly the sort of accurate, frugal medium pacer who thrives in English county cricket on green decks, so he is an automatic choice should the pitches in New Zealand be seamers as expected.
Josh Hazlewood will enter the tour as Australia’s key bowler and is perfectly suited to such conditions. He may have lost his radar with the Dukes ball in England, but has since returned to his reliable best.
With Siddle and Hazlewood appearing to be certainties, the question is whether Australia’s third pacemen also should be a horses-for-courses selection.
Should Australia select an English-style swing bowler such as Jackson Bird or Chadd Sayers? Or should they complement the dependability of Siddle and Hazlewood with a more cutting edge like James Pattinson or Nathan Coulter-Nile?
I have not agreed with the Australian selectors’ focus on speed. In this case though, it seems Pattinson or Coulter-Nile would add welcome variety to a pace attack that would include Hazlewood, Siddle and Mitch Marsh, all of whom operate mostly in the 128-135 kilometre-per-hour zone.
The next round of the Sheffield Shield does not start until February 3, just nine days before the first Test in Wellington, so there will be no more opportunities for domestic bowlers to impress with the red ball before Australia’s Test squad for the tour is picked.
The expected seaming tracks in New Zealand may well lengthen Siddle’s Test career.
Bearfax
Guest
My apologies ThugbyFan. You are quite correct about Bollinger. I must have been having a blank moment.
Don Freo
Guest
Happy Chrissy to you too. I'm dealing with an excess of Christmas cheer on the balcony, watching the sunset with the wife, the dog and the cat...a bowl of lollies, a bowl of cherries and a glass of Baileys. ...a bit like an Andrew Symonds lunch break.
Don Freo
Guest
Symonds, for me, ranks as one of Australia's more disappointing players. Just lazy. George has an outstanding cricket brain with a cricketer's application.
ThugbyFan
Guest
Hi Bearfax. Just a small error in your post. Doug the Rug has played tests for Australia, about 10-12 if I remember. I saw him in Sydney against South Africa a few years back. James Hopes (and Tom Cooper) have played a lot of ODI but you are correct there, neither made the test team. Its an interesting article here as what is unspoken is the world view of Aussie cricketeers. Tough to beat in Australian conditions but total chumps anywhere else. Look at our last few tours. India 2013 - a divided team SMASHED 0-4. England Ashes - belted 0-3. South Africa WIN 2-1 (conditions similar to Aus), Pakistan in UAE Spanked in Spin disaster 0-2, W'Indies Whoopee a WIN 2-0, England Ashes Spanked again by seamers 2-3. All we have beaten in 6 tours is West Indies and SA and if you really want to weep the match score is 6 wins and a whopping 13 losses. And we seriously think we should be #1 test side in the world? The powers-that-be need to tell the curators around Australia to take note of the pitch they served up for the Day-Night test in Adelaide. Get some bite and seam in all the pitches and ffs get some spin into the Sydney turf. Bowlers can then learn how best to use conditions to get batsmen out. We pick bowlers because they are good on similar Aussie decks and wonder why they don't have a clue on different pitches in other countries. The other plus is batsmen won't be going around in Shield with shiet techniques with averages of 100+ and crying "me, me" for test selection.
Bearfax
Guest
Rubbish Don. Oh and by the way Merry Christmas...or is it still not 25 December there in Western Australia...so far behind the times.
Don Freo
Guest
George is way better than Andrew Symonds.
Bakkies
Guest
Absolutely. There was an Ashes Series at home where the players spent a month in India on the flattest decks possible playing one dayers. The pitches turned George Bailey in to Andrew Symonds.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
Paris is, however, a genuine option for the World T20 and the upcoming ODI series against India. Great talent.
Don Freo
Guest
Nah...I just randomly picked out boring players whose tyres Roarers have pumped over the years. Apologies to Michael Hogan and George Bailey. You two are ornaments to the game.
Bearfax
Guest
OK Ronan. I didnt realise he had played so few matches. My mistake. You win that one.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
I'm a huge fan of Faulkner but he missed his chance this summer in the Shield to put heavy pressure on Mitch Marsh. If Faulkner had had a really impressive first half of the Shield season for Tas then I reckon Marsh would be on the cusp of being dropped (he might not even have survived to the Boxing Day Test). But Faulkner was only handy, rather than eye catching in the Shield, with 10 wickets at 32 and 191 runs at 24 from four matches. Had Faulkner averaged 35-40 with the bat to go with that solid bowling return he'd be right in the mix for a Test spot. As it is I don't see him featuring against Windies or in NZ unless Marsh is injured, and even then I think he wouldn't be the clear favourite to replace Marsh - he'll have to battle Stoinis and Maxwell for that spot.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
"Paris is a better option than the lad they picked but again they chose outsiders who just have temporary form…" Paris is the very definition on an outsider with temporary form...the kid has played TWO first-class matches, Boland has at least played 27. I don't agree with Boland's selection but he definitely deserves a national call up more than Paris at this point, as much as Paris is a sensational prospect.
Bearfax
Guest
Sorry Chris but I agree with Bakkies on this one. If Sheffield Shield is supposed to be the primary means of selecting for tests then players should be given as many games as possible to show their wares. By August next year not only will we have forgotten Shield form, but form in general could be lost. This is where the problem of selecting by way of short form cricket becomes problematic, because too often it seems selectors chose test positions based on recent ODI or T20 displays which are a totally different form a cricket. Has anyone spoken about Maxwell's average of 54 so far in Shield this season. What about the opportunity for Lynn to show his wares. Bancroft went a little on the slide, but there were too few opportunities for him to make his claim. Meanwhile they chose Boland, who has an OK average but a short burst of form in the 1/2 Shield season, over other better qualified aspirants such as Paris.
Bearfax
Guest
On the contrary Don, of those who have played tests only Wade and O'Keefe had decent averages. Hopes, Hogan and Bollinger have never played tests and Klinger and Cooper have never had the averages to justify a test position and have tended to be one season wonders. Only O'Keefe and possibly Sayers and Wade should be serious contenders. Paris is a better option than the lad they picked but again they chose outsiders who just have temporary form...its the old story and I suspect politics again prevailed. Waugh may be promoting Agar as some have but his performances other than a recent century have been ordinary
Bakkies
Guest
How can you maintain form or work on your game when you have two months off in your own Summer to play Base Ball League. If you don't get a gig there your off playing club cricket for two months which isn't good enough. SA seems more realistic. Sign a two month contract and come back to finish the Shield season. They've finished their Twenty 20 comp and concentrating on the real stuff. As for August players can sign county contracts. In the past youngsters played league cricket. Even Smith has played in it. It's now time for players to go and look for the work.
Don Freo
Guest
Paris is 23 now. Mark Waugh is not short of a word of praise for him. Loves Paris in the summer. Waugh is also an Agar fan. I don't think this mob of selectors is overly conservative...otherwise, they'd limit themselves to statistics. Cowan, Quiney, Klinger, Bailey, Cooper, Hopes, Wade, O'Keefe, Sayers, Bollinger, Hogan.
Tom
Guest
he did well.
Jacko
Guest
I actually agree with you Jameswm, better go check my meds. If Aus had played Siddle more in England I think they may have won the Ashes as he can move the ball sideways in the right conditions.
Jacko
Guest
Agree Allanthus but then again Ronan does overlook the truth a lot when writing these articles. Im really not sure that any country doctors their pitches majorly as for the past 40yrs that I have followed international cricket things have pretty-much stayed the same. Flat turners in the sub-continent, slower seamers in English/NZ conditions and fast and bouncy in Aus/SA so same old same old the way I see it. I would love to see Aus go to the Duke ball as opposed to the cookaburra tho as it has a bit more seem to it.
Jameswm
Guest
How did past it Peter Siddle go in the last Ashes test, on a deck similar to what we will face in NZ?