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It would have been fascinating being a fly on the wall as Rod Marsh, Mark Waugh, Darren Lehmann, and Trevor Hohns came up with Joe Mennie’s selection in the Australian 12 for the WACA starting next Thursday, for the first Test of the summer against South Africa.
The quartet would have mentioned the near 28-year-old South Australian paceman topped the Sheffield Shield wicket-takers last season with 51 at 21.21 – very commendable.
But would they have taken unto account those wickets were against first class cricketers, not internationals?
With the latter in mind, how about Mennie’s ODI debut against South Africa at Johannesburg with 0-80 off his 10, followed by a far more respectable 3-49 off ten in Cape Town.
But he wasn’t rated good enough to play all five ODIs, just two.
Yet Mennie beat Jackson Bird for Perth, a selection that defies description.
Bird’s Test career has been jolted by injuries over four years, yet he’s captured 21 wickets in five Tests at a very respectable 25.28, with an economy rate of 3.19.
Bird had to get the nod.
So how did they go in the recently completed Sheffield Shield games?
Bird took 3-75 off 30 at the MCG, and 3-59 off 13 against the Vics.
Mennie, playing against the West at the WACA, the scene of the Test, took 3-56 off 18, and 0-66 off 16.
Again it’s heavily in favour of Bird.
We’ll never know how the four selectors voted, but let’s have a stab at it.
How about Marsh and Hohns voting for Mennie, Waugh and Lehmann for Bird, and at 2-2, chairman Marsh had the deciding vote as chairman.
Joe Mennie in, Jackson Bird out.
Marsh virtually gave himself up when he praised Mennie after naming the team, adding – “He’s a dead-set professional seam bowler, that’s what I love about him”.
But Bird is deserving of exactly the same praise, and at proven international level.
David Warner, Steve Smith, Adam Voges, Peter Nevill, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood were automatic selections, leaving a couple of Marshes, no relation, Usman Khawaja, Peter Siddle, and Nathan Lyon open to discussion.
It was a toss-up between Shaun Marsh and Joe Burns to open the batting with Warner with Burns the favourite to have a left and right hander opening partnership, against that the WACA is Marsh’s home ground.
In the just completed Shield games, Marsh cracked 73 and 110 against Mennie and Co, while Burns posted 129 and 36 against Starc and Hazlewood.
A toss up alright, Shaun Marsh won for two left-handed openers, but make it three with Khawaja selected to bat first drop – another reason to pick Burns.
But Khawaja’s lucky to escape, for reasons other than runs.
He has publicly criticised the “fickle” selectors for making him the scapegoat for the Sri Lankan Test series whitewash – not a clever employment call.
Rod Marsh didn’t miss in retaliation.
“He opened his mouth before his brain got moving, it might have been early in the morning, loves to sleep in Ussie.
“It wouldn’t say it was the smartest thing he’s ever said, but that’s life”.
It would be safe to say Khawaja will zip it in future, and just concentrate on scoring big runs.
Mitchell Marsh is lucky there’s no-one around to be a contender for the all-rounder berth, but it’s time he did something – anything.
That leaves an under-done Peter Siddle, and an under-rated Nathan Lyon.
Siddle is assured of playing, while there’s talk offie Lyon could carry the drinks, which would be as bad a selection as Mennie.
Lyon has only played three of his 57 Tests at the WACA, but has been very competitive on a paceman’s track.
That being the case, Joe Mennie will be 12th man, so why was he picked in the first place?