Looking at the three new inclusions into the Australian squad for the first Test – Cameron Bancroft, Tim Paine and Shaun Marsh – it’s hard to see a common rationale.
After Australia were routed by South Africa in Hobart last year, the selectors were given the brief to look to young talent. But with Marsh now 34 and Paine 32, that brief has been abandoned.
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Instead, what ties these selections together is panic.
Bancroft’s selection at least sees Matt Renshaw replaced by someone who is similarly youthful, and who has also earned his place through first-class performances.
Yet the selection of Marsh, which is strangely not the most confusing, definitely hints at panic.
Perhaps there was also some hidden brief from Cricket Australia to the selectors a few years ago that said Marsh should be selected and dropped every few months until the end of time.
But more likely, the selectors were worried about picking a youngster who wouldn’t perform, and therefore went for a familiar face.
Marsh, despite being often derided when he is selected, has done well in his recent performance for Australia.
AAP Image/Dave Hunt
But if age is no longer a factor in selection, than George Bailey, Alex Doolan and Ed Cowan should all have been in the conversation, as Cowan and Bailey’s first-class form has been at least as good as Marsh’s in recent seasons.
However, a major force pushing against Cowan’s selection is that he is currently out of the New South Wales team, despite averaging 73.76 in last year’s Sheffield Shield.
Yet the selectors have overlooked the importance of playing first-class cricket, with Paine having been on the fringe of the Tasmania side since Matthew Wade returned to the state. More significantly, Paine was also kept out of the team last year by youngster Jake Doran.
The rationale behind this move is that Paine is supposedly Australia’s best gloveman. But having only kept in three first-class games in the past two years, it is hard to properly evaluate him.
Furthermore, Australia selected Peter Nevill for the 2015 Ashes on the basis that he was the best gloveman in the country. Nevill played some good innings at a turbulent time, and despite his average being underwhelming, he was unlucky to be caught up in the chaos at Hobart.
Perhaps the problem is partially a lack of a keeping metric, which Paul Potter discussed in a Roar article earlier in the year, just after Paine had been reselected in the Twenty20 side.
Therefore, Australia’s best wicketkeeper remains subjective.
Until his retirement last season, many believed Queensland’s Chris Hartley to be the best gloveman in the country. Yet despite averaging more than Paine in first-class cricket, Hartley never played for Australia.
Another incredible statistic is that Darren Lehmann’s last first-class century came more recently than Paine’s.
So the selectors have panicked and reverted to old ways, rather than using tangible logic. Most policies vary between favouring youth or first-class performances, but these do neither.
Consequently, it is not just the individual selectors who should be called into question, but also the selection set up, which is outdated and was supposed to be changed after the 2011 Argus Report.
But as intriguing as it will be to see how the panic selections perform, it will be even more intriguing to see who is picked to replace them if they aren’t up to scratch.
TheCunningLinguistic
Guest
Don't forget the JLT Cup. I know it's One Day cricket, but Marsh's form was sublime. Also, while the WA pitch wasn't the toughest in the country, the quality of attack that Marsh faced vs NW was leagues ahead of what Maxwell faced. I'm not surprised Marsh was selected, and I'm not disappointed either.
John Erichsen
Roar Guru
Trevor Hohns needs to apologise to the cricketing public for insulting their intelligence. Obviously, Shaun Marsh is the backstop for Australia's batting order and gets selected when the NSP can't actually work out who they should pick.
Steele
Guest
Marsh hasn’t had a bad shield season in years, so the form is there and he was the highest run scorer in the recent one day series. So I’d argue that point.
Steele
Guest
I’m with you Geofff, it was looking flaky. I’m much happier with this team. We are playing the Poms, not the Windies.
Bunney
Roar Rookie
That's it in a nutshell. Shaun Marsh has performed much much better. What utter tripe. That is a bald-faced lie if you ask me.
Klaus Nannestad
Roar Guru
Exactly. There isn't a clear logic to the selection. Why pick Marsh over all these players, its not like he is younger, nor in better form. Maxwell is a really good example, plus he is a brilliant fielder, can bowl part time, and adds aggression to the lower order batting, which might be handy as Tim Paine is a pretty conservative batter by modern standards.
John Erichsen
Roar Guru
"... we just feel that Shaun Marsh has performed much, much better..." This is in context to the dropping of both Maxwell and Cartwright. Now, I don't think anyone can argue for Hilton Cartwright. He just hasn't scored enough runs. However, I remain unconvinced that Marsh's 236 runs @ 39.33 from six completed innings is any better than Maxwell's 200 runs @ 40 from six innings with a 45* in his last dig. It certainly isn't much, much better. Not when two of Marsh's three games have been played at Perth which has by far been the best batting pitch. Apparently test centuries scored in India don't have the value they once did. This context also fails to to justify how other players, with better recent shield performances than Marsh have been overlooked. We should be very confident that Shaun is the right man for the job. I mean, when has he ever let us down?
John Erichsen
Roar Guru
Bancroft selects himself, especially given Renshaw's current inability to hit the ball with anything bar the edge of the bat. Paine certainly got full value from his half century against England for the CAXI, followed by 71 in the last shield innings. I can only assume selectors see those numbers as considerably better than what other contenders are doing. Paine's keeping quality has never really been a concern and we all know he doesn't miss out on the gloves for Tassie because Wade's a superior keeper. This doesn't make up for Nevill being dumped for a failing middle order last summer, but Paine's selection lets the NSP save face while removing Wade, who should never have been recalled. Marsh isn't a surprise but he should be. Given that Bancroft covers Renshaw at the top of the order, Marsh is set to bat in the middle order. With that in mind and the clear focus of last summer, Lehmann should have been a certainty if the incumbents, Maxwell and Cartwright, were out of favour. Too many newbies for such an important series perhaps and lo and behold, Shaun of the dead is resurrected yet another time. Both these selections seem to contradict the clear direction birthed from the debacle at Bellerieve last summer. I guess we shouldn't expect consistency from our selection panel. They chop and change their minds more than Glenn Maxwell does when facing a finger spinner. I will admit that the side looks stronger now than it did with an out of form Renshaw, an out of class Wade in it. I am disappointed for Maxwell, as once upon a time and away century would have been valued higher than the 36 extra runs Marsh has made in one more completed innings this shield season to date.
John Erichsen
Roar Guru
Out of "Mate's rates" selection opportunities, I believe.
Klaus Nannestad
Roar Guru
I think it seems panicked because the selectors have reverted to their old method of selecting players that largely ignored long-term development. Bancroft certainly merits a spot on form. But there are many players who have shown similar or better form than Marsh who are either younger or who have performed domestically over a larger period of time. And having played just 3 first class games in 2 years, Tim Paine doesn't really have any form in the long format. I think the selectors have therefore panicked and selected on hunches, rather than on the new post-Hobart methods which forced them to do things differently.
Darren
Guest
Agree on Bancroft. Can't see how the other selections are based on form. Perhaps Paine but it is based on a very short window.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Guest
I don't see these selections as the result of panic - they are based on form - and in the case of the dropping of Renshaw and Wade lack of form. This team looks solid whereas it would have been flaky if Renshaw, Maxwell and Wade had all been retained. Hats off to the selectors for showing some ticker with these selections.
Simoc
Guest
A strong Australian team, probably the best we have currently. They should beat this soft looking England team with a day to spare in Brisbane (if the weather is good).
Jameswm
Guest
Can't see how Wade is out of luck
Pope Paul VII
Guest
Yes it's interesting. Renners and Wadey out of form and luck. Bancroft showed up when they needed him. Paine also timed his run to perfection.. Shauny is the insurance with Warner, Smith and Handscomb all a bit wobbly. They wanted an experience head down the order. Maxi is a bit unlucky, his test and Shield form has been better than Handscomb's.