Sam Heazlett is the latest youngster pushed forward to regenerate Australian cricket.
Much has been made about him being selected for the one-day tour in New Zealand, having never played a first-class match. The back story seems to be that he was to be a back-up batsman for the three-game series, so what is the point in taking the likes of George Bailey, Cameron White or Michael Klinger when a youngster with huge potential could be developed?
The problem occurs when, on the eve of the match, a player goes down – like Matthew Wade did. Suddenly Peter Handscomb is slipping on the gloves and Heazlett went from back-up development player to the top six.
It is not his fault that he scratched around to score single figures – it is the selectors’ fault he was in an international.
Can anyone honestly tell me that Australia would not have been in a better position with any of Bailey, White or Klinger coming in at six?
Instead, Marcus Stoinis was left to fly solo, desperate for a stable batting partner. That is a loss marked down to the selectors.
This also comes on the back of Mitchell Swepson being picked in the India touring squad. It is rumoured that Stephen O’Keefe and Nathan Lyon are locks for the first Test and, on the advice of a former great spin king, Swepson will learn much from touring India so early in his career.
The selectors seem to have forgotten that touring squads are actually about winning games on tour. Players should be selected because they are believed to be able to push for the best XI to win the next game on tour.
The selectors might mark what happened in New Zealand as an unexpected match-day event, but was it really? Players have been pulling out on match day since well before Glen McGrath rolled his ankle on a cricket ball in the warm up in 2005. That is why you have a squad, filled with players ready to go on this tour, not getting ready for the next one.
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