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Warne backs Agar over O'Keefe for SCG Test

Ashton Agar, in more hirsute times. (AFP, Saeed Khan)
30th December, 2016
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Australian cricket great Shane Warne says Test selectors should look beyond the “safety option” of Steve O’Keefe as a second spin option at the SCG.

O’Keefe and fellow left-arm spinner Ashton Agar were both included in Australia’s 13-man squad for Tuesday’s third Test against Pakistan, with batsman Nic Maddinson and seamer Chadd Sayers making way.

The pair are set to fight it out to line up alongside offspinner Nathan Lyon, who shrugged off his recent criticsim of his bowling with a crucial three-wicket spell to help Australia claim an unlikely victory in the Boxing Day Test.

With the hosts wrapping up a 2-0 series win with their last-gasp triumph in Melbourne, the dead-rubber in Sydney shapes as an audition for the spinners ahead of February’s tour of India.

O’Keefe, who showed promise during Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka before injuring his hamstring, is well-placed to earn selection at his home ground.

But Warne, Australia’s greatest spinner with 708 Test wickets, says Agar’s ability to unleash serious turn and flight should place him at the top of the queue.

“I think he is the best spinner worth a try,” Warne said on Friday in the Nine Network commentary box.

“I think O’Keefe is more of a white ball specialist. I don’t think he’s a red ball player. I know he bowls very economically and he’s a good cricketer but I think he’s a lot better suited to white-ball cricket.

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“I would like to see us develop somebody in the Test match arena like an Agar and persist with someone like him. I think O’Keefe is just a safety option.”

O’Keefe’s first-class record of 218 wickets at 23.64 suggests Warne’s assessment of the 32-year-old was somewhat harsh.

Either way, Australia coach Darren Lehmann’s belief that Agar has the potential to be a genuine allrounder may be enough to tip the balance in his favour.

The 23-year-old famously scored 98 on his Test debut against England at Trent Bridge in the 2013 Ashes and has a first-class batting average of 26.41 compared to O’Keefe’s 11.00.

“He’s made Shield hundreds and obviously batted well in that Test match at No.11,” Lehmann said on Friday.

“He’s certainly got the talent to be a batting allrounder or a spinning allrounder, either way.”

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