Australia’s T20 selectors have left poor old Steve Smith with an absolute mess on his hands. Smudge has been shot in the foot by the very people who are supposed to give him the best chance of winning.
Two spinners were selected for Australia’s opening World Twenty20 clash against New Zealand and were utilised for a total of 12 balls. One of those bowlers conceded three runs, so why didn’t he bowl more? And the other went for 18 in a single over, so why was he in the team?
Ashton Agar’s selection was a particularly strange one given he was often unable to crack the Scorchers’ Big Bash League XI this summer. On what grounds did he demonstrate he should be part of the Australian side then?
Australia showed mixed form coming into this tournament, but a particularly consistent performer, and warm-up match hat-trick taker, was the metronomic Josh Hazlewood. But in what can only be described as a selection table brain fart, he was overlooked for Nathan Coulter-Nile.
Another forehead scratcher was the omission of former captain and current world number one Twenty20 batsman, Aaron Finch. Bizarre indeed.
To compound these strange selections, the batting order, in particular David Warner’s placement at number four, drew a lot of flack from fans and former players alike. I’m not too worried by Warner at four, given his good form there in both IPL and recent Twenty20 cricket.
Australia have a real strength when it comes to top order batsmen and all-rounders. So play to those strengths. Don’t muddle it up and leave us neither strong enough in the batting or bowling. At least stack one department, the batting would be the obvious choice.
For the record, I advocate for an XI consisting of Finch, Usman Khawaja, Shane Watson, Warner, Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Marsh, James Faulkner, Peter Neville, Hazlewood and Adam Zampa.
But all of this begs the question, why is Smith being given a side he can’t work with and why is someone other than Smith responsible for selection? He is the one who has to implement tactics and utilise bowlers appropriately.
I would like to see the match day XI selected by the captain during tournament play. That way he doesn’t end up with two spinners when he only needs half of one and his batting is left short by the absence of the best player in the world.
The lack of coherent and logical foresight from selectors here is a blight on the Australian cricket system. A team renowned for dominating everything they come across can’t even put forward a team sheet that looks half right.
A change in selection policy will be a step forward. Time for progress.
Alex L
Roar Rookie
He's been the most consistently capable middle order batsman in domestic and international limited overs cricket available for Australian selection for several years.
Broken-hearted Toy
Guest
So do I. Mind you, if players are used to and practise mostly whacking it for every match they play in T20s, they are hardly likely to be able to adapt quickly. None of them are Mike Hussey, in terms of experience and nous.
Broken-hearted Toy
Guest
Oh good grief, he didn't say that? Far out. That's a good way to make himself look stupid.
Jacko
Guest
A better question would be what has Bailey ever done to deserve selection in the first place
Matth
Guest
NZ may have been captained better, but I actually think it might be the coaches.
Chris
Guest
Smith just said that the australian team is surprised by the amount of spin the pitches are getting. I hope thats just deflection and not genuinely that we were surprised.
Compeyson
Guest
I totally agree for an XI consisting of Finch, Usman Khawaja, Shane Watson, Warner, Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Marsh, James Faulkner, Peter Neville, Hazlewood and Adam Zampa.
Sambo
Guest
A new selection panel may be the answer.
Jeff
Guest
Unfortunately the Kiwi team were captained by a far better captain than we were.Even if Smith didn't get the team he wanted he committed a number of errors including how he handled his bowlers and the way he batted.As someone commented he was so far out of his crease it looked like a runout not a stumping.
Alex L
Roar Rookie
What has George Bailey done to deserve being ignored for openers who can't play spin getting his spot at 4, that's what I want to know. Is it the selectors holding a grudge having now acquired the compromising photos he threatened to release to get selected for the home ashes series or something?
bigmick01
Guest
Smith shouldn't even be in the team. Let alone captain.
Chris
Guest
Yeah whats with all the defence of Smith? If he has no say in the team he should as the australian captain use that influence to get a say or at the very least go to the selectors with a few names and say he likes the look of them and that this is his plan for making us number 1 in all formats. I cant see the selectors not taking his advice. And even if they dont, you work with what you have been given. The side that we have is good enough to win.
Larney
Guest
I agree unfortunately. He needs to hold a bit of the blame here, a lot actually. Perhaps selectors should have stuck with Finch as captain? Personally, Smith wouldn't be in my best T20 side, but the other formats are a different matter. I hope he learns from this for the following games.
davros
Guest
Y are Mega fossils even selecting at all ? Some of this crazy s..te must be sheeted home to R Marsh ! I pointed out Agars short comings on another thread ..offering up Lyon , Okeef and Even Doherty ...im really sorry i forgot Cameron Boyce ....who should have been a special ! How did agar get ahead of those guys ...and then Couletr nile for hazelwood doesnt bother me so much ...but it is starting to prove the W A bias . Was smudge so pissed off he deliberately shot down Agar ...its plausible !
VivGilchrist
Guest
Don't defend Smith. He was tactically useless in this game. He gave Zampa only one over, bowled Agar in the power play, and thought he'd replicate Sharmas stumping to Satner himself after scoring 6 runs. One of the worse captains games in a long time.
Selwyn
Guest
australia can pack their bags solong cause they not gonna make it out of the group. Poor team selections and poor preparation for wt20 a big problem and where's the players who played so well in the bbl? Hate to say this but its gonna be long before u guys win wt20 besides u slow learners in this format anyway.
Grassy_Grounds
Roar Rookie
Most of us realise that the team requirements for the three main forms of cricket are different necessitating quite different team structures. So why can't Cricket Australia see that we should have independent selection teams for each format? That way mega fossils aren't trying to select teams for formats invented 30 years after they stopped playing!
Matth
Guest
Yes but you don't actually know whether or not Smith got the team he wanted. He may have been the culprit. I bet if it was Michael Clarke captaining, he would have been blamed for the selections and probably accused of shafting Finch to make his own position more secure