Australia has made the sensational decision to recall left-arm spinner Stephen O’Keefe for the remainder of the Bangladesh tour after Josh Hazlewood was ruled out with a side strain.
Hazlewood succumbed to the injury on the third day’s play of the first Test while bowling in the second innings.
With a second Test starting on Monday in Chittagong, and Hazlewood being ruled out of both the remainder of this tour and the upcoming ODI series against India, Australia have promptly named O’Keefe as the replacement, despite the swap being anything but like-for-like.
O’Keefe was left out of the touring party for Bangladesh after playing against India during March. At the time, national selector Trevor Hohns said O’Keefe’s performances weren’t up to standard on that tour to warrant selection this time around, despite spinning Australia to victory in Pune.
Instead, Australia went with Nathan Lyon, Ashton Agar and Mitchell Swepson as the three tweakers, while all-rounder Glenn Maxwell was also included in the squad.
“Whilst Steve O’Keefe bowled well in Pune, he did not maintain this level in the remaining matches of the series and we believe the timing is right for Ashton to enter the set-up and test his all-rounder ability,” Hohns said at the time.
Now recalled for Hazlewood, it sets an intriguing scenario for the Aussies, who may opt to make a double change for the second Test.
While Hazlewood is likely to be replaced by the only other pace bowler in the squad, Jackson Bird, there is also a chance that one of the batsmen – possibly Usman Khawaja, who scored just two runs in the first Test – could be dropped.
That would pave the way for O’Keefe to strengthen the tail, with Ashton Agar, who made Australia’s second highest score with 41 in the first innings, to bat at No.7 while everyone shuffles up a spot.
With Swepson also in the squad, and arguments being made each way about the batsmen, Australia may only stick with the single change, bringing Bird in for Hazlewood, but recalling O’Keefe creates plenty of intrigue around the XI for the second Test.
Hazlewood is expected to bat in the second innings if required before flying home. Australia are currently 2 for 109, requiring 265 for victory with David Warner and Steve Smith at the crease.
It’s expected Hazlewood will be fit to play the Ashes, starting in November.
Day 4 resumes at 2pm (AEST) on Wednesday and you can join The Roar for live coverage.
Ross
Guest
So we lose 5-39 today and people talk about weakening the batting , keep tbr batting as it is and Sok replaces nazewleood
Mike Dugg
Guest
Amazing but great work and he should come in for Hazlewood with Cartwright replacing Wade or Ussie. Warner Renshaw Khawaja Smith Cartwright Maxwell Handscomb Agar Cummins Okeefe Lyon
Basil
Guest
Cartwright! Table of 4!
AREH
Roar Guru
And loved it!
Bucks
Guest
7.Wade 8.Agar 9.Cummins 10.O'keefe 11.Lyon
Tigerbill44
Roar Guru
A bit surprised;got to admit.
Lancey5times
Roar Rookie
The Seinfeld fans out there will get the reference ;)
peter chrisp
Guest
Lance Costanza i must admit i have never heard of him,
Coriander Son
Guest
If the pitch for the 2nd test is similar to the 1st test, the team management would probably replace Hazlewood with SOK and one of either Khawaja or Maxwell with Cartwright. Khawaja should be the one to go but the captain and coach dont appear to be backers of Maxwell. Probably move Agar up the order instead. Khawaja looks like he is trying too hard and doesnt back his game.
Lancey5times
Roar Rookie
It's hard to think he won't play given the uniqueness and nature of the selection. Agar is very hard to drop given his performance thus far in this test. It screams 3 spinners, Cummins and Costanza in the next test
peter chrisp
Guest
Well is it a good choice, from what i understood SOK was dropped for disciplinary reasons so i guess the way i look at it are we trying to beat them at their own game by playing 3 spinners & as a back up Maxwell too? Realistically we now have 4 although Maxwell is an all rounder? Well the main focus of course is todays crucial game can we get over the line?
BurgyGreen
Guest
People suggesting Cartwright for Hazlewood are crazy. Cartwright's bowling adds pretty much nothing to the side. He's in the top 6 as a batsman or he doesn't play. Straight swap Bird for Hazlewood is the obvious and obviously correct option. Let Khawaja have the two Tests. If he fails again then you think about whether he should be picked for future Asian tours. O'Keefe's selection is bizarre and pointless. There's already a backup spinner in the squad and playing three spinners would be foolhardy anyway. Bird will lock up an end nicely and Agar and Lyon can continue to do a solid job as they have in this Test, with Cummins steaming in for short and lethal spells.
Basil
Guest
If Aussies win this Test expect a raging turner for the 2nd, if they lose, expect a road. Maybe the selection of SOK is just covering the bases?
Pope Paul VII
Guest
This is strange. The spinners ripped it up. Three spinners is unnecessary. It's the same when they get excited every year and say they will pick 4 quicks for Brissie and Perth beofre inevitably going for the sensible 3. Patty Cummins as your solo pacemen is risky. What if he breaks down? Just put Jackie Bird in. Dunno what Paris Hilton Cartwright is bowling like but he looked to be straining in Sydney last year.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
But how is he in the best eleven? Are the going to drop Agar for SOK? Agar took 5/100 for the test and played an invaluable 41 not out in the first innings. Or are they going to replace Hazlewood with SOK and have 3 spinners, in which case the third of them likely bowls barely enough overs to even bother having them there. Which is why I suggested replacing Hazlewood with Cartwright and playing the extra batsman. But if you do that, who gets dropped for SOK? I really don't see how you can drop Agar after his performance in this test, and if he's not getting dropped there's simply no space for SOK that I can see, regardless of whether he should be part of the best eleven or not.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Regardless of where Shakib bats, he is still one of the frontline spinners. He's one of the two that bowled the most overs in the first innings. They are a good case in point. One of the specialist spinners they picked batted at 9 and only bowled 8 overs. They picked a pace bowler who opened the bowling for them, batted at 10 and only bowled 6 overs. Meanwhile Shakib and Mehiy bowl 26 overs each. So it feels like they had more bowlers than they really needed. And that's how it always feels with a third spinner. Even with 2 spinners, Lyon bowled a lot more overs than Agar, and Maxwell only bowled 5 overs per innings as the third spinner. Basically, because you can have two of your bowlers bowl the vast majority of your overs in these sorts of spinning conditions, you can actually do with one less specialist bowler, especially if you've got a couple of allrounders in the side.
Basil
Guest
Agar stays at 8. Only change is O'Keefe in for Hazelewood. That's it. Bangladesh seamers have bowled 15 overs in this match. Beat them at there own game I say.
The Fatman
Guest
Great pick. O'Keefe is a good bowler. Straight change for Hazelwood.
Rob JM
Guest
SOK is clearly in the best 11. It the selectors way of saying that winning is more important than disipline!
Rob JM
Guest
The last thing we need to do is weaken the batting order.