It’s been a hell of a ride in 2016, both in cricket and elsewhere. Let’s hope 2017 is just as exciting. Here is my wishlist for Australian cricket for next year.
Australia revive cancelled Test tour of Bangladesh
It’s now more than ten years since Australia and Bangladesh squared off in a Test match.
After 16 years in the Test format, Bangladesh have only had four matches against Australia, whose scheduled tour of Bangladesh last year was cancelled due to security concerns.
Cricket Australia was warned by the Australian Government that it had changed its travel advice for the country due to intelligence that “militants may be planning to target Australian interests in Bangladesh”.
Cricket Australia then sent a delegation of senior staff to Bangladesh to analyse the security concerns and meet with the BCB, before deciding the tour was too risky.
It was the correct decision by Cricket Australia to protect the safety of their players. They may also have inadvertently safeguarded the team’s win-loss record. Given how abysmal Australia were in Sri Lanka earlier this year it’s fair to assume they would have struggled in Bangladesh.
It’s since been reported that Australia hope to revive the tour in 2017. That would be a great outcome for both teams. Bangladesh deserve the chance to play the high-profile Test teams more often, while Australia’s players would benefit from the chance to hone their skills in Asia.
Glenn Maxwell returns to ODIs to dominate the Champions Trophy
When Maxwell is at his best the Australian ODI team is extraordinarily intimidating. His ballistic batting is capable of turning what looks like a good total of 300 into a monster score of 350. His dynamic fielding creates wickets and saves up to 20 runs a match.
And his underrated off spin adds terrific balance to the Australian attack, allowing them the option of fielding four specialist quicks on suitable pitches.
This is just what Australia did during their triumphant World Cup campaign last year. Frontline spinner Xavier Doherty played just one match in that tournament, with Maxwell providing the lead spin option.
The all-rounder did a solid job with the ball, taking six wickets at 36. But it was his phenomenal batting which caught the eye – Maxwell made 324 runs at an average of 65 with the jaw-dropping strike rate of 182.
That helped him earn a spot in the World Cup Team of the Tournament. Maxwell is a big game player, having also earned Team of the Tournament selection at the 2014 World T20. If he can return to peak touch for the Champions Trophy then Australia will be nigh-on unstoppable.
Nathan Lyon finally works out how to bowl in Asia
In Western conditions Nathan Lyon is a quality Test spinner, capable of being effective across all five days of a Test.
It’s a different tale in Asia, though, where Lyon is clearly unsure what tactics to adopt. The off spinner has averaged 45 in his 11 Tests in Asia, despite the conditions there favouring spin over pace.
Australia’s three-Test series in Sri Lanka earlier this year summed up Lyon’s travails in Asia. He altered his approach several times across that series in search of greater effectiveness. Lyon started the series bowling mostly in the mid-80kmh range, operating with enticing loop and heavy overspin as he’s done with success in Australia.
As the series wore on, Lyon bowled flatter and faster to the point that, in the final Test, his average speed was above 90kmh, a good 10kmh faster than Sri Lanka’s rampant finger spinners. Australia’s batting in Asia has been a disgrace for years now. They have also, however, badly lacked a spinner capable of even tying down the home batsmen. They will be praying that Lyon finally takes this step during their upcoming four-Test tour of India.
Matt Renshaw locks down the Test opener’s spot
Elite Test openers are the most precious of batting gems. Just as rare are quality young Test batsmen who put an extremely lofty price on their wicket.
In this era of fast-forwarded cricket few emerging batsmen have either the ability or the inclination to scrap their way to a valuable knock in difficult circumstances.
For every old-school, grinding young batsman like England’s Haseeb Hameed and Australian rookie Matt Renshaw, we see half a dozen cavalier strokemakers.
There is room for both styles of players in a Test line-up. The presence of a circumspect player like England’s Alastair Cook or New Zealand’s Kane Williamson in a team’s top order adds fine balance to a batting line-up.
Australia have lacked this balance since the retirement of their top order rock Chris Rogers. In the infancy of his Test career Renshaw already had displayed vast reserves of patience. He shapes as the perfect foil to dashing opener David Warner.
Dexter The Hamster
Guest
Even when watching the WBBL...????
Maggie
Guest
No. 10 is the only given!
Simon
Guest
Nah c'mon, we're on your side but 'batters' are something that you make on Sunday morning before frying em up to make pancakes. It can't be the default term, batsmen just sounds 100x better
tim
Guest
I wholeheartedly agree. Furthermore, we should also use the terms 'bowlsman' and 'wicketkeepsman' to preserve the usage of archaic, sexist terminology.
Basil
Guest
I think that no10 is the most unrealistic.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Guest
I may not have played test cricket but I played cricket for 20 years and have been watching test cricket for 50 years. Listen to any reputable commentator and they will say the same thing about Lyon's bowling. He bowls too fast and doesn't bowl a consistent channel just outside off stump to the right handers. I'd love to know how many batsmen he has got out bowled or LBW. Not enough I would have thought. Contrast this with how Swann got his wickets against Australia and the way the spinners on the subcontinent get their wickets against Australian batsmen. Smith is obviously frustrated at Lyon's lack of consistency. He just doesn't put enough pressure on the batsman. Someone needs to get him in the nets and sort him out quickly as he will be going to India in February and we will need Lyon and O'Keefe bowling well in tandem.
Statler and Waldorf
Roar Guru
I just want a pie & a beer while watching the cricket :)
bearfax
Guest
My wish list 1.Jake Doran finally hits a century in Shield cricket and begins to show his worth 2. Kurt Patterson gets a shot at test cricket 3. O'Keefe is recognised for his worth in test cricket 4. Bancroft gets to play his first test 5. Lehmann, Heazlett and Dean break the shackles in the second half of the Shield season 6. We finally see the four pacemen Hazlewood, Starc, Pattinson and Cummin fit and in the one test team, at least a few times 7. We finally see the brilliance of Chris Lynn uninjured over a 12 month period 8. Agar comes closer to becoming the heir apparent for the test spin position 9. Khawaja succeeds on the subcontinent 10. Don Freo continues to entertain on this forum.
davSA
Guest
I see Maxwell as the a cricketer in the mould of Faf Du Plessis. He also had underwhelming stats when he got his test call up. He had an inauspicious start to his test career but the major difference here is that the SA selectors stuck by him. Today of course he is an automatic selection and a bit of a go to guy in tough situations. In that vein any selector who drops any player after only one test match shows not only a poor understanding of the dynamics of the game but a clear lack of faith in their own original decision. On that note Best wishes too and thanks for the articles.
ak
Roar Guru
Glenn Maxwell makes a comeback to the test side for the tour of India - My wish.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
Hi davSA, Merry Christmas to you and all the Roarers! My answer is I'm not sure, I don't have any inside info that Maxwell has been left on the Test bench the past two years because of off field issues. Personally I think he's so talented that, in this major rebuilding period Australia are going through, I'd give him a proper chance to show his wares in Test cricket. Maxwell has played only 3 Tests and each one was a one-off appearance - 3 times he got to play just one Test and then was dumped. If you ask me now is the perfect time to give Maxwell a decent run. He might have only averaged 26 with the bat from 5 Shield innings this summer but there's something about him that makes me think if he was guaranteed a decent run in the Test team he'd really lift.
davSA
Guest
Hi Ronan , Agree on the Maxwell issue. From an outsider looking in it remains a bit of a mystery that he cannot find selection. Heck I would have him in the test side too........Question : Is his omission a pure cricketing issue ? If yes then it remains a mystery . If not then surely past utterances etc. can be overlooked for everyone's sake. He has just that bit of grunt in him all teams need.
Train Without A Terminus
Guest
Have you seen his bowling? Warehouse C grade would be a little high for him.
Basil
Guest
After 3 or 4 days of the BBL I can't wait for some proper cricket to start on Boxing Day.
Basil
Guest
I appreciate that Lyon is struggling to take wickets this summer.
Harry
Guest
The Lehman approach has seen collapse after collapse of the Australian top order. Its fundamentally lazy and a copout. Lehman and his gang just go the easy "play your shots, attacking cricket is best cricket" blah blah. NEVER an acknowledgement that altering this approach and putting a higher premium on your wicket and the huge benefits of just occupying the crease. Why? Because its easy to coach and easy to explain ... but at its heart its a cop out and betrays the Australian cricket test team's proud heritage. Grinding out tough situations and disciplined batting have always been a hallmark of all great teams - instead, tine and again, we see our guys collapse to frankly terrible shots and Lehman just shaking his head saying he doesn't know how that happened. The prime example - where he should have been sacked or had the decency to resign at tour end - was the debacle at Trent Bridge in 2015 where we were bowled out after 18 odd overs or something pathetic. Lehman's response was to throw up his hands and say he had no idea how that happened i.e. dissasociate himself. No acknowledgement that the approach was masssively flawed and that AUstralian batting needed to change - instead, carry on. No wonder the side is now greatly diminished. Until shield cricket is taken seriously and there is a change of coach I can't really see it improving.
BurgyGreen
Guest
I almost wonder if the new selectors picked Maddinson because he bowls - a sneaky effort at sticking with the five-bowlers philosophy.
Craig Swanson
Guest
If Cartwright does not own #6 I want CA to abandon this idea of a all rounder must at #6 over a specialist batsman. Maxwell is Maxwell. One day taking an attack apart and winning games. The next going cheaply with a rash shot and putting the side under pressure. Travis Head to take is place for the Champions Trophy. Renshaw is a novice but a talented one who is prepared to put a high price on his wicket. I want to see the happy go lucky QLander cement his spot for the future.
Jeffrey Dun
Roar Rookie
"I sincerely hope Darrne Lehman and his acolytes don’t ruin Renshaw with their disasterous approach of always “playing your shots’ whatever, which has reduced Australian test batting to a joke sadly, with collapse after collapse in recent years." I have wondered about Lehman's role with the Australian team for some time. I'm not sure what a cricket coach actually does (we played test cricket for almost a 100 years without them) but our batting line-up is so fragile that someone should be held accountable. If a football coach boasted Lehman's record they would have been sacked long ago. If the coach can't iron out technical deficiencies against the spinning and swinging and seaming ball, or assist the spinners adapt to subcontinental conditions, then what is the point of having them. In my view getting rid of Lehman would be a good start to 2017 and, if we must have a coach, appoint Gillespie, who has had some success with Yorkshire.
GD66
Guest
Renshaw shows considerable promise, not least because he calmly exhibits something that has been sadly lacking in the batting lineup since Rogers' departure : PATIENCE. My end-of-year wish list would also include the abolition of the teeth-grinding use of the term "batters"....