In the lead up to the ongoing domestic One-Day Cup I was not convinced that the competition was benefiting from the presence of the rookie-laden Cricket Australia XI.
But that team of gifted youngsters has since managed to change my mind. They might have gone winless in their six matches this tournament, but the CA XI have shown great development after a horrendous debut season last summer.
They are easybeats no more. The experiment by Cricket Australia looked doomed when the new team suffered humiliating defeats in their first two matches last October. They could not have had a ruder introduction to the competition, with their first match coming against a NSW side boasting ten players with international experience, including Steve Smith and Mitchell Starc.
National captain Smith cracked 143no from just 122 deliveries as NSW batted first and made 3-338. Then Starc bulldozed his way to figures of 6-25, leaving the CA XI to be all out for just 59 in what was the largest run-margin in the history of Australian domestic one-day cricket.
Just days later CA XI’s inexperienced batting line-up came across another express pace wrecking ball in Victorian James Pattinson. The Australian Test star took 4-18 and CA XI managed only 79.
Victoria chased that total down in just 11.1 overs with nine wickets in hand.
A week later, WA smashed the CA XI by 246 runs. At this stage, the initiative looked like a blunder by Cricket Australia. They were copping a steady flow of criticism from the fans and several pundits predicted the CA XI would not survive.
But Cricket Australia stood firm and CA XI returned for a second season, this time under the leadership of Victorian legend Brad Hodge, who coached the Gujarat Lions in this year’s Indian Premier League. It would be easy to look at their 0-6 record this tournament and assume CA XI have flopped again.
That is not the case, however. CA XI have been competitive in all but one of their matches.
Their sole disappointing display was in their second match against Tasmania when they made 236 batting first, a total the Tigers reached in just 39 overs with eight wickets in hand.
They swiftly rebounded from that loss, going within five runs of upsetting NSW two days later.
Their three standouts in that match were 18-year all-round spinning all-rounder Arjun Nair, and young batsmen Ryan Gibson and Will Bosisto.
Nair operated with admirable control and eye-catching variation to return figures of 2-53 against a very strong NSW batting line-up. Then Gibson (97) and Bosisto (75) helped bring CA XI to within a whisker of reaching the target of 329.
Nair, Gibson and Bosisto have been among the stars of the One-Day Cup so far. Yet they might not have even played a single game in the competition if it weren’t for the presence of the CA XI.
At NSW, Nair is stuck behind Test spinners Nathan Lyon and Steve O’Keefe (when fit).
Nair is an extraordinary talent – a calm tweaker with a bag of tricks and a classical batsman.
His development is being fast tracked by the existence of the CA XI – the very idea behind the concept. In February he became one of the youngest first-class cricketers in Australian history, debuting as a 17-year-old for NSW.
His incredible rise has continued in the One Day Cup in which he is the second-leading wicket taker among spinners with ten wickets at 24 from five matches.
Nair has had limited opportunities with the bat, but compiled a fluent 68 against Victoria when offered the chance to open the batting. He is among the most exciting young talents to emerge in the Australian domestic scene in the past decade.
Meanwhile, Gibson (293 runs at 49) and Bosisto (251 runs at 42) have had stellar tournaments with the bat.
A patient, well-rounded top order batsman, 22-year-old Gibson opened the Cup with 106 against Queensland. Aside from his 97 against NSW, Gibson also flourished against South Australia, showing a more dynamic side to his batting amid a knock of 68 from 46 balls.
Despite his obvious talent, Gibson is still yet to debut for NSW, which is stacked with batsmen, even when it is without its many Australian players. Again, the CA XI has been of enormous benefit to this youngster, who will have put himself on the radars of the Australian selectors, let alone the NSW panel, with his efforts this month.
Bosisto made his debut for WA three years ago but since has featured for the Warriors only in first-class cricket. Like Gibson, he is a composed batsman who impresses with his patience and ability to rotate the strike. In this age of T20 sluggers, Bosisto stands out because he does not rely on boundaries to keep the run rate ticking over.
Bosisto, Gibson and Nair all appear to have the talent to push for national duty in the years to come. If they do become international cricketers, the CA XI will have played a significant part in that journey.
baz
Guest
Why no coverage of the One day final today ? do you not cover domestic cricket ?
Rellum
Roar Guru
I would love too if I had the time, alas I do not. Of course others could because surely I am not the only one keeping an eye on the comp.
Rellum
Roar Guru
That is completely misrepresenting my point. I did say if they want more teams bring in NT and the ACT. Make them teams that mean something and do your best to get fans to care about the comp.
Andy Hill
Roar Pro
I watched him bowl today for the CA XI against South Africa and he was certainly giving it some air. He was quite impressive and took some big wickets thanks to his clever variation and willingness to toss it up. Looks the goods.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
Cheers Tom, I'm glad you enjoyed it mate.
Tom from Perth
Guest
Rellum sounds like you're following the competition closely. I can't watch much at all because of work. You should write an article to keep us informed. Of course Ronan will tie his pieces in to the national team. That's what the average punter wants to read!
Tom from Perth
Guest
Great piece Ronan. I think it's a good initiative. Give the young blokes a chance to play against the best. It'll only do good for their development.
Tom from Perth
Guest
Brilliant as always Bear. Well done old son.
bearfax
Guest
Rellum if we took the attitude of not playing against teams that arent up to scratch, we wouldnt be encouraging teams like Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. Any competition against superior teams is a learning process otherwise what would be the purpose of playing against any team other than the few that are at your level. Cricket would die without such innovative thinking. We need as many players as possible striving for the top and that means they have to face the best to see what they need to do to reach the next level
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
Hi Sameer, Have you watched Nair bowl in the Matador Cup? You will have noticed he is bowling quite differently now, giving the ball a lot more air, which is necessary if you want to trouble State batsmen on Australian decks.
JoM
Guest
I will say with regards to Ryan Gibson he wasn't fast tracked anywhere. He has been quietly going along in 1st grade and scored quite a few centuries over the last couple of years. He did make the NSW Under 19 team a couple of years ago, but missed the 17's altogether despite the fact he was fantastic in Green Shield and the previous years in Emerging Blues. There was a group of boys in that age group who were always way above average and he was certainly one of them.
Don Piper
Guest
How many games have you attended Ronan? Go the Blues! They will win this 'arvy Maxwell to throw a tantrum when he is trundled over by Doug "the sledger" Bollinger
Rellum
Roar Guru
I have to say I am disappointed that the only thing you could find to write about from the One Day cup is with a national team focus on a team that should not be there. A team the players union thinks should not be there as it devalues the comp. There is a big final today between the two biggest states with several international players suiting up, playing for the chance to face off against the Bulls in Sundays final. I am picking NSW if anyone is interested because of Cummins. Hopefully a decent crowd shows up tonight. These CAXI does not help these players develop in any great way. They are gifted chances, they don't even need to perform or score runs. They should be made to earn their spots in the state team and then be under the pressure to perform and guide their state to the trophy, or at least be so good that their state not winning the trophy can be seen as the result of other failures. I firmly believe that our current batting woes with the national team stem from players being identified at very young ages and then being fast tracked through the levels without having to prove themselves at those levels, of course combined with coaching policies about footwork, shot selection and eventually pitches. The levels themselves have become over bloated even. If you want more spots for players to develop add two new teams to the one day comp and even the shield. You don't need mass crowds or marketing as those things were basically abandoned long ago. They then will build I will give props to CA in stumping up the cash for this one day comp to be on TV. You can see the effect this has as crowds steadily build over the course of the series.
Sameer Murthy
Roar Rookie
Hi Ronan, Just referencing your comment from my article on Arjun Nair last year (http://www.theroar.com.au/2015/12/22/arjun-nair-represents-the-changing-face-of-australian-cricket/). You said that "by the looks of this video he looks more like a slow medium pacer than a spinner, he gives the ball zero air. That might work at lower levels but very few spinners make a mark at international level by bowling flat and fast". It wasn't just you, but a host of other roarers didn't rate him. While I think his bowling will be challenged as batsman get more used to his style, he has no doubt proved me right on everything I said about him. Do you admit that along with being proved wrong with the CA XI concept, you also underestimated the talent of Nair?
bearfax
Guest
There is no danger sending young inexperienced players up against the cream. If you'll excused the pun, they were destined to be creamed, but that was never the point. As you say, the experience is what its all about. These kids have now seen the distance between their level and the top in Australia. They now know more about what is required of them. They will have learned some valuable lessons facing the best bowlers, batsmen and fieldsmen. Their game needs that experience if they are to move to the next level. I'm all for occasionally throwing these guys in against the best because I believe it fast tracks them to their next level of development. I was all for it Ronan