I'm still in mix for Test No.6 spot: Moises Henriques

We could do a lot worse...either Marsh. I don't know why you'd think that, though. In 17 years of first class cricket, Shaun has only been picked for 28 Tests. It's not as if he is favoured. In 8 years, Mitch has only played 21 Tests. It's not as if he is favoured.

...and the previous season? Remember, Henriques' runs come from easy pitches on small grounds and rely on not outs for an average. He fails elsewhere. His double century not out last year involved him batting and batting, delaying a declaration until he reached some personal milestones. By then he had batted for too long, didn't have enough time to bowl the opposition out and NSW missed the finals for that reason alone. No place for that in any team. He struggles to stand up for NSW in tough circumstances. He would love to have some of Stoinis' heart.

Fully expect Marsh to be recalled.

"Henriques scored 775 runs at 65 last season compared to 197 at 17.9 for Stoinis."

Stoinis, a genuine top 3, does fit that criterion.

Chris.. Stoinis over the last couple of years? You only gave last year's. Does that make a difference. I'd be pushing for Wildermuth over Henriques. Widermuth has bowling strike power. Mitch Marsh is still the one. I like the idea of him playing just as a batsman for WA for a while. Captaincy should have him delivering what he is capable of. The other that interests me is how Arjun Nair goes with the bat. A spinner with penetration, I hope they don't bat him too low.

Anyone want to bet that Mitch Marsh would bat at six in the first test at the Gabba? As far as I am concerned the only secret is what 'avatar' will he fulfill this time? Let's see... he has been picked as great potential all rounder, top six batsman, batting all rounder, bowling all rounder... gee the selectors have their hands full this time coming up with a role for him as they have seemingly exhausted all options. Maybe this time they will pick him "just because we want to."

What do you mean, he is absolutely in the mix for the NSW number 6 spot.

Stoinis really needs to score some serious runs in the first few rounds of the Shield to have a chance I'd think. He's shown in previous seasons that he's got good potential, but he actually had a shocker last year, averaging just 17 or something like that in the Shield. That's certainly not good enough to be considered for test selection. But his overall record before that wasn't terrible. So if he can turn that around with a couple of hundreds in the first couple of Shield matches then he'd be a chance. Though i'm guessing the #6 position at the Gabba is going to either be Maxwell or Cartwright. That then gives other potentials a few more matches to push their case for selection in the third/fourth test if whoever is picked does poorly in those first 2-3 tests.

Cartwright definitely has some pro's in his favour. One being that he's 5 years younger, so there's potentially more long term upside. Though in the last couple of shield seasons Henriques batting stats stack up pretty well to Cartwright. Cartwright got a few more runs than Henriques last year in the SS, but he averaged 54 to Henriques 64. So they both had good seasons, but purely based on batting performance over the last couple of years, Henriques is at least the equal of Cartwright. He's definitely a better bowler, though he has barely been bowling himself over the last couple of seasons. He will need to bowl more to show that is a worthwhile string to his bow. But the big question mark against Henriques, apart from it taking him years and years to finally start scoring heavily in domestic cricket (thus giving him a pretty mediocre overall record) is the thought that he isn't good under pressure, that he pads his stats by piling on runs when the pressure isn't really on, and rarely plays the big innings under pressure when his team really needs him to, and that then translates to struggling to make the step up to international level where there's automatically more pressure.

Did you read the last sentence of my comment? I did point that out. Though I don't know that he's "shown that he can't make the step up". He's played 4 test matches, all in the sub-continent, 3 in India four and a half years ago, and he actually did pretty well in the first one, then he was thrown in for the last test against Sri Lanka when all the other batsmen were failing. That's all. Then in ODI's he's had sporadic chances all over the place. His most recent being the Champions Trophy where, despite not having played any ODI's for Australia for a while, he was put in to bat at #4. It's hard to know if he could be a decent international player if given more of a run of consistent matches. Plus, the last couple of years he's really stepped it up in domestic cricket. His record in the last 2-3 seasons is well above his overall record. So if given a decent run now he might be able to turn himself into a decent international cricketer. But there is always that comment over Henriques that he seems to score most of his runs in situations where the pressure isn't there. That his runs aren't necessarily scored under pressure when the team really needs him to stand up. I haven't really looked into this to see if it's the case. But if it is, then that's definitely a mark against him. It's something that would really work against making the step up because there's automatically more pressure when playing international cricket.

But do we have such a player? Cartwright might sort of fit your description, but his bowling record suggests they wouldn't be tight overs. The extra bowler tends to be needed in good batting conditions where you are likely to face lengthy stints in the field (or where you are likely to face oppressive heat and need to spread the load more). In more bowler friendly conditions you don't really need a fifth bowler and can pick a pure batsman for the #6 spot. But in the end it comes down to what players are available. It's nice to say that a certain type of player is what you want in that position, but if there aren't any players like that available then that doesn't help much.

You make me laugh Mr Spotify.

I would be going with Stonis. He is showing an ability to hang around at the crease and value his wicket, not withstanding his good scores under pressure. His bowling is stump to stump and tight. He has done nothing wrong and everything asked of him and should be first pick. Forget Marsh are you kidding?

You can't use his domestic record as a guide to see how he'd do at the next level. After plenty of chances, he's shown he can't make that step up to the international game

I suppose his form is reasonably good and has been for some time, but all the Australian number six needs to do is bowl a few useful overs - ie. no more than 8-10 in a day, to provide relief. Henriques is undoubtedly a better bowler than Cartwright, but I'm not sure being closer to a genuine all-rounder actually works in his favour. Cartwright's bowling offers very little, but he can bowl those few overs needed, and is a batsman in the top six with a great FC average. Have always liked Moises but I can't really see the benefit in him playing at 6 ahead of Cartwright.

We don't need an allrounder at 6. We need a good batsman that can bowl a few tight overs when needed. When did the did the term allrounder start referring to a player that is a sub-standard batsman and bowler anyway?

Of those players mentioned, Henriques record puts him closer to the genuine allrounder category than any of the others. Batting average of 35 and bowling average of 31. Cartwright more comes off as a batsman who's a part-time bowler. By far the best batting average of the group, but his bowling is nowhere near as good. Mitch Marsh on the other hand has a record that suggests he's really a bowler more than a batsman, averaging sub-30 with both bat and ball. Henriques and Stoinis have almost identical career batting averages, but if we are going on recent form, Henriques scored 775 runs at 65 last season compared to 197 at 17.9 for Stoinis. If you take away overall records and just look the last couple of seasons, Cartwright and Henriques are clearly the form players with the bat. If he can continue the sort of batting form of the last couple of years while doing a lot more bowling, then he'd certainly have to be in the mix. I think the biggest issue for Henriques though is the feeling that he's one of those sorts of players who performs when the pressure isn't on, and that results in an inability to step up to international level.

Moises is a funny guy!