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Nathan Coulter-Nile’s questionable addition to the Test squad doesn’t really matter anymore because of his shoulder injury, but still there is a selection that is just plain odd.
Victorian quick Scott Boland was thrust into the limelight by being put on standby for the first Test against the West Indies, and he is now a member of the 13-man squad after Coulter-Nile’s injury.
Most people who aren’t keen followers of domestic cricket may ask who this guy is, and those who do follow will be wondering why he was picked above a number of other quality young quicks.
A haul of 7-31 in the final round before the Big Bash break seemingly put him at the head of the line of our back-up bowlers, despite having only taken a total of six wickets in six innings before that.
It is mind blowing that one good haul has him in the Test squad ahead of eight other fast or medium-pace bowlers who have taken more Sheffield Shield wickets this season.
Firstly, there is Redbacks bowler Joe Mennie, who sits atop the wicket-taking table, with 24 wickets.
Then of course there is Jackson Bird, who has 22 wickets and has already shown he is good enough for Test cricket.
Next is the abandoned tour of Bangladesh bolter Andrew Fekete, who has 17.
Redbacks pair Chadd Sayers and Daniel Worrall have both taken 16 scalps, Doug Bollinger has 15, while Western Australia’s Michael Hogan and Joel Paris have 15 and 14 respectively.
While Boland’s average is marginally better than these other pacemen, surely that isn’t enough to put him ahead? Why not reward Mennie, who has clearly been the top bowler so far this summer, or even one of his teammates in Sayers or Worrall?
Or if you want to keep the ‘no South Australians’ policy, surely Fekete would be the man, especially if they were going to take him to Bangladesh.
Why not blood a young left-armer like Paris to become Mitchell Starc’s back up?
There are plenty of options if the selectors want to reward form, rather than a one-off bag.
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