After heated debate for months and months across the winter, and many auditions from plenty of players, the Australian selectors will have to choose their eleven for the first Test, in the biggest series in world cricket, the Ashes.
This is how I think the eleven should shape up.
1. David Warner (VC)
The vice-captain of the Australians basically picks himself. With an average of forty seven with the bat, he is the incumbent opening batsmen in the side. He historically, like most Australian batsmen has a fantastic record in Australia, and he bats basically to his average against England which makes this an easy selection.
2. Matthew Renshaw
This was one of the debated selections, well somewhat anyway. Anyone that knows anything to do with cricket would have Renshaw as the opening batsmen. He has shown that he can dig in when the going is hard to score, and also attack brutally when needed, at the age of 21, Matthew plays in his first ashes series.
3. Usman Khawaja
This selection irks me, a lot. This is clearly the weakest link in the side. His record in Australia is phenomenal however (averaging 63), and he has played fast bowling incredibly well here in recent times.
Historically his record against England has been deplorable, but that is mainly because he has played them in England. On home soil, I would reluctantly name him as the number three.
4. Steven Smith (C)
Another selection who speaks for itself. Smith is one of the best players in the world and a seemingly very good young captain. He will no doubt lead from the front in the Ashes as the skipper, and it could be another series on the path to him becoming one of the great Australian batsmen of all time.
(AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
5. Peter Handscomb
Yet another selection who picks himself, at just 26, Handscomb has burst onto the scene and is already one of Australia’s best players. With an average of 53 from just ten matches ‘Pistol Pete’ will look to continue his stellar form with the bat and in the field.
6. Glen Maxwell
Possibly the most debated spots in the Australian team, and has been for a long period of time. Maxwell simply has to play, yes he has a tendency to do dumb things, but nobody else in the country, in this position, has the potential and talent that Maxwell does.
Hilton Cartwright hasn’t done anything to show he is a better option and Moises Henriques is the worst number six in Australian history. Therefore I would back in Maxwell as our number six.
7. Alex Carey
This will undoubtedly be the biggest talking point of the summer, the Australian wicket keeper. Carey hasn’t set the world on fire playing first class cricket however he has potential and raw talent. He simply can’t really do any worse than Matthew Wade and Peter Nevill.
Wade can’t keep and Nevill can’t bat. Carey gets the nod as the keeper, mainly because the other two we have fighting it out for that position are either horribly out of form or not up to it.
8. Mitchell Starc
Starc picks himself in the team. I’m not the greatest fan of his, as I think he is too erratic, but we all thought that about Mitchell Johnson once. He has improved dramatically over the last two or three years and could be ready to rip the English apart, he is in.
(AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
9. Patrick Cummins
I had to think about this selection, he wasn’t a walk up start in my eyes like a lot of people seem to think. Like Starc he can be very erratic however his injury concerns are much more severe than Starc’s are.
Mainly, he got selected for his raw pace and bounce, which the English seem to struggle with when touring Australia.
10. Josh Hazlewood
Hazlewood is a walk up start in this team and one of the first picked, especially when you have the likes of Starc and Cummins in the team. He is very similar to Glen McGrath in the way he hits a beautiful line and length. His performance will play a huge role in the series.
11. Nathan Lyon
Like a fine wine, he gets better with age. Lyon isn’t the greatest spinner going around in world cricket, but for a country with absolutely no spin options, he is extremely important, and has actually got better with age over the last few years. He plays well on Australian pitches and is a lock in the team.
This series is extremely important for both countries like every ashes series is. However, although we hear every time England tour that they are the worst team to have travelled here, this year, I actually think that they might be right.
With no Ben Stokes who is no doubt their second best player, the English have bowlers who don’t bowl well in Australia, or batsmen (Apart from Joe Root) who can’t handle the conditions, or are untried in it.
I predict a 5-0 demolition job, very similar to the last time they travelled here.
KBG
Guest
interesting to see mark waugh coming out in support of renshaw. you'd have to think that gives him at least two tests. he was far more concerned about 6/7. there was no discussion, at least in what i read, of khawaja. i still think that to suggest the bloke who has been a massive success at home for a number of years and who is in as good form as anyone in the lead-up should be dropped (or not selected if you prefer) because he has not done well in the past overseas is bordering on absurd. this is the cricket equivalent of your rugby world cup final. what side would not pick their best team for that game? it makes no sense.
Kopa Shamsu
Guest
thank you william,this is the thing i have been saying for long,you cant pick a number three just for home series.
KBG
Guest
understand, but i don't agree. i might if it were against anyone but england. i think that if we were both on the selection panel, we'd have some interesting talks.
William Cornwill
Roar Guru
You pick your best team, and in Australia I agree that Usman is in it, however you are right in regards to the fact that if there were other options ( if a young guy like Patterson was knocking the door down) then I would probably have him in instead, due to the potential of him being able to play in other countries as well as here.
KBG
Guest
william, i don't disagree re smith. and i also understand that the future is crucial. but where is the line? do you potentially risk an Ashes series or do you pick your best team? i know you are picking usman in your team but it does seem you would quickly sacrifice him if there were options. for me, an Ashes series is where there is no question. best team. and he is unquestionably in it, at the moment.
William Cornwill
Roar Guru
Firstly we have to build for the future still, or else cricket in this country will get progressively worse. We don't really have that many players coming through that scream "test cricketer" about them, so because of that we need to try some of those out, however like I said, Khawaja is in my team, but it still irks me because of the reasons I have stated. And nobody in this country rivals Smith, he is by far and away our best player.
KBG
Guest
you'd have to think that khawaja has cemented his place today, while renshaw has not helped his cause. bancroft certainly has but is it at the expense of renshaw (hopefully not) or wade (fingers crossed).
KBG
Guest
"we need to build for the future..." normally i do understand that but this is the Ashes. this is the pinnacle of world cricket. it is what you build for. bugger building for tours to nz and zimbabwe and wherever. this is the series to win. everything else matters, but it matters a lot less than the Ashes. you pick your best side. khawaja at home rivals smith and warner. if either smith or warner announced an impending retirement post the Ashes series, does that mean you'd drop them and "build for the future"?
William Cornwill
Roar Guru
Root has improved ten fold since that series and is now one of the best batsmen in world cricket. He can bat in any conditions and will more than likely prove that this summer.
William Cornwill
Roar Guru
I should of explained better. My issue with Usman is that he struggles overseas, and in my personal opinion, I don't really like the theory of picking someone in a home series, however knowing full well that he won't even be in contention for the next overseas series. We need to build for the future as well as the now, especially when we don't have the greatest of teams in the first place currently anyway. I completely understand the selectors playing him, I had him in my team.. But I still think it is a potential weak link, even for this series. Time will tell.
George
Guest
The mouth - who shouldn't be a Test player, home or away - motivated Jadeja to play a match-sealing innings. Great stuff. And bravo to his great supporter Smith too.
Ross
Guest
Agreed on khawaja, he is one of our best test batsman and one day too. The khawaja you saw 4 years ago in England is different player to today, what we have now is a world class batsman who is one of the first picked in this team and not sure how this selection can irk you in any bit
KBG
Guest
if i understand you correctly, and forgive me if i have misinterpreted your comments, your gut suggests we dump a bloke who has been fantastic at home for a number of years, who has already scored a ton at the very venue of the first test, and replace him with a largely untested guy, a decent cricketer no doubt, who has a first class average of just over 40 - hardly stellar - and this season has scores of 60, 30 odd, 14 and a duck? how on earth does this make any sense? with the greatest respect, if that is what your gut is telling you, stock up on mylanta. on a completely separate matter - the keeper. i understand that gilchrist changed thinking on keeping v batsmen/keepers but there are very very few gillys around. to me, grab the best keeper. now, i honestly do not know who that is (other than that it is definitely not wade). the selectors should be able to identify him. i see a post here wanting a keeper who can average 30. nevill is dismissed from consideration, yet he averages 22 in tests (more than mitch marsh - not picking any marsh would be a good start in making certain we have more runs) but just over 40 in a long first class career - not bad. indeed, a single run less than patterson who our friend above wants as our number 3???? but if bancroft or anyone else is a better keeper then i am all for it. it just seems the old saving pennies, losing pounds argument. one single missed chance can lose us the ashes. if we look at the need to get a keeper averaging 30, i'd argue that in the first place, an average of 30 for a batsman coming in down the list is realistically a bit less as one can expect a few not outs. then we have starc and cummins, both averaging around/just over mid 20s. more than we might usually expect from batsmen at that stage. we can afford to go with the best keeper. an extra 5-8 runs a test is unlikely to make the difference in this series. a few missed chances might very well do just that.
Jeffrey Dun
Roar Rookie
William, I not sure of the basis of your following comment "....the English have bowlers who don’t bowl well in Australia, or batsmen (Apart from Joe Root) who can’t handle the conditions, or are untried in it." Cook is the only England batsmen to bat well in Australia and that was 7 years ago. Cook averaged only 24.6 on the last tour. Joe Root toured here last time, averaged around 27 and was dropped for the last test.
bearfax
Guest
Kopa, Like Ryan, I find this uncertainty about Khawaja at home hard to comprehend. Please explain the logic of your comments because Khawaja at home has a test batting average of 63.74. Only Smith and Handscombe have a better home average. He's also started this season averaging over 70 in Shield cricket. Yet you would choose Stoinis who averages under 40 in Shield cricket. If I was to pick Patterson it would be instead of Stoinis, not Khawaja by a long stretch. This uncertainty about Khawaja I'm reading from some, has me completely perplexed. He is in my mind the most technically correct batsman we have. His first class average is No 3 in test batsmen in Australia at this stage. Handscombe averages around 50 in test but 40 in first class cricket and I think you'll find his test average will drop to the low 40s in time. Could you please explain your position on this.
Jeffrey Dun
Roar Rookie
Well said Liam. Was it Wade who said (indirectly sledging Jadega) something like "Your not a home track bully Garry - you take wickets all around the world"? A great sledge, because it is so true.
Kopa Shamsu
Guest
David warnrer Matt renshaw Usman khawaja/Kurtis patterson(i would go with patterson,if selectors wouldn't go with their gut feelings,patterson would played same amount of cricket as renshaw by now,i have far better gut feelings than australian selectors) Steven smith Peter handscomb Marcus stoinis cameron bancroft(WK) Mitchell starc josh hazlewood pat cummins nathan lyon
blanco
Guest
Bancroft is a very competent keeper by all reports. Neville cant bat on the international stage. Wade can't be pick, surely. Carey isnt ready. I can see why selectors may consider Bancroft. He obviously is a better bat than tge rest and started as a keeper. This would be a similar situation to Bairstow. Started aa not the best keeper in England but look how he has developed. And people saying your keeper doesn't have to score runs. Anyone batting at seven should be averaging minimum 30 in my opinion. Or are you suggesting dropping a front line bowler and picking an all rounder to bat at 7.So the likes of Carey, Neville can bat at 8.Clearly both Neville and Carey are not good enough to bat at seven.
John Erichsen
Roar Guru
I actually thought you were serious, even about Renshaw's brutal attacking capabilities and Khawaja's lack of form and ability when playing England. It was only when you rated Mitch Marsh as a better test number six than Henriques that I realised you were obviously taking the p*ss. Nobody could honestly think Moises, with a slightly better test average and the same number of test 50's from 8 test innings that Mitch Marsh scored in 35 test innings. You disguised your jesting well until that point. Well done!
AREH
Roar Guru
Don't forget Khawaja is playing IN Australia in this series; against a bowling attack that is far from world-beating, that includes in it a 35 yo who has struggled badly in Australia on more than one occassion. England are pretty unsettled as a unit, and I think it's pretty reasonable to expect Khawaja to have a big series with the bat. He is a class act at home. Let's have a glance at the last two home summers where he has featured in both; 2015/16 - v New Zealand: 174, 9* 121, DNB v West Indies: 144, 56 DNB 2016/17- v RSA 4, 97 4, 64 145, 0 v Pak 4, 74 97, DNB 13, 79* And from those opponents I think you say only the West Indies had a conclusively weaker bowling attack than this England one on tour.