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New South Wales stalwart Steve O’Keefe is reportedly being brought into the Australian Test squad for the third and final Test against Pakistan at the SCG.
The left-arm orthodox bowler, who was curiously born in Malaysia, is set to give Nathan Lyon a run for his money for the New Year’s Test in Sydney, beginning January 3.
O’Keefe has remained in Sydney while the rest of his Sydney Sixers side flew down to Adelaide for their New Year’s Day clash against the Strikers.
It’s been confirmed by the Sixers that O’Keefe plans to stay in Sydney until the squad for the third Test is announced. If the bad news comes through from the selectors, then he’ll then fly down to Adelaide to prepare for the Big Bash fixture.
Although Lyon has been under pressure from the selectors and media as of late, he carries a massive public fan following and over 200 Test wickets worth of experience.
Captain Steve Smith has even entertained the idea of using two tweakers for the Sydney Test.
“I guess it will depend on the wicket. I know in Shield cricket this year that wickets have been spinning quite a lot. We’ll look at that. It is a possibility,” Smith said during the second Test.
“We’ve had a quick chat to Boof [coach Darren Lehmann] and Trevor Hohns…
“I think we’re going to wait until this Test match is over and see where things are at moving forward.”
O’Keefe played in the Sydney Test at the beginning of 2016, partnering Lyon with a two-spin attack against the West Indies.
While the game was highly rain-affected, ending in a draw with just one-and-a-half innings played, O’Keefe took a handy three wickets in green and overcast conditions.
Brad Haddin has weighed in on the situation, saying that the two-spin option is more than viable for the third Test.
“I think they’ll definitely look at two spinners,” the former Aussie wicketkeeper said.
“The talk is the wicket has been pretty dry in state games. The games I’ve witnessed with the BBL, the wicket has been really dry. Two spinners is definitely an option.”
O’Keefe has played at the SCG during the Sheffield Shield already this season as well, taking eight wickets against a hapless Western Australian side, ramping up the speculation of his selection earlier in the summer.
The 32-year-old is no slouch with the bat either, and has the opportunity to fill the awkward fifth-bowling all-rounder role with which Australia have struggled.
O’Keefe has nine first-class half-centuries to his name, including a painful high score of 99.
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