Wow. Shaun “I love to have a beer with Boof” Marsh.
I now view the re-selection of Shaun Marsh as a cross between the now cliche John Farnham comeback tour and Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 – a comprehensively faulty battery with no age of reason.
If they cut Marsh from a central contract last year, why is he back? What is the allure?
If they are serious about experience and left-handers who actually know where their off stump is, why did Ed Cowan get dumped from New South Wales for younger players – heavily influenced, no less, from Australian captain Steve Smith – when he topped the Shield run-scorers last year with nearly 1000 runs?
As Brett Geeves observed during the week on Fox Sports, I would love to see Cowan test the legal waters as to whether he has been discriminated against on the criteria of age.
In basic terms, the Age Discrimination Act 2004 is an act of the Parliament of Australia that prohibits age discrimination in many areas including employment, education, accommodation and the provision of goods and services. Persons of any age can be discriminated against within the meaning of the act.
Taking such a grievance to the Human Rights Commission may open up a loss of earnings argument which could set very awkward precedents into the future for the Cricket Australia. That would be fun to watch.
(AFP Photo / William West)
Next on the list. Tim Paine. Another golden boy from ten years ago. A career ruined by finger injuries. But it’s okay, at 32 he is now our best keeper.
He hasn’t even been keeping for his state. He hasn’t scored a first-class ton since Darren Lehman was playing. His form hardly warranted selection over the last couple of years as a standalone batsman, averaging near 16 with a first-class career average of 29.
Of the contending keepers, Peter Nevill is very hard done by – people say he hasn’t scored the runs, but New South Wales has comfortably won its first three matches, and he has sacrificed his innings twice chasing quick runs. Team game, doing a team thing.
Matthew Wade must be traumatised. The bloke standing next to him at first slip who can’t break into the keeping ranks let alone hardly being picked in the batting ranks is now Australia’s wicketkeeper.
I’m not saying Wade and Nevill were knocking the doors down – they weren’t. In my view Wade can’t keep but deserves a mention as the incumbent. But the Paine selection is even more ludicrous when you have another part-time keeper in Cam Bancroft smashing runs everywhere. Seriously, the selectors should have just pulled Chris Hartley out of retirement.
(AAP Image/Richard Wainwright)
No doubt Bancroft deserves his slot, but not at the expense of Matt Renshaw. Renshaw obviously hasn’t scored lots of runs of late, but Peter Handscomb isn’t setting the world on fire either. Regardless the trio should be in the team as the foundational elements of our next world-beating squad. Bancroft in as either the keeper or the number six.
Glen Maxwell finally gets the chance to answer his critics on home soil and he is also consigned to the dustbin.
And why pick on Renshaw? Why not David Warner? He simply couldn’t perform in India and now will probably be a hero again on the highways that are unfortunately modern Australian Test wickets. Let’s not forget Renshaw’s Test average in Australia is 65, and his efforts to dig in during the Indian series when more famed companions couldn’t should have earnt him some street cred.
Anyways, allegedly Shaun Marsh has been brought into the team for his experience. Give me a break. He has had more than double the number of recalls to the Test team than centuries. The selectors in one foul swoop have destroyed the integrity of the domestic first-class scene.
I must live in a parallel universe. It will be confirmed when the selectors drop Shaun Marsh for the third Test for his brother Mitch on the basis of his outstanding JLT one-day domestic batting form and new-found peace captaining Western Australia.
And let’s not forget Mitch’s ability to bowl is always an advantage!
qwetzen
Guest
Cowan Renshaw (As non-mouth breathers have pointed out, EC is unwanted by NSW) Burns Doolan Ferguson Maxwell Cartwright Bailey Nevill O’Keefe - Not really. He has zero Test form. (55.6 for last 7 innings). A straight dropping. Copeland Sayers or Dorff - Copeland (*) at least has a BG. Mennie Tremain
qwetzen
Guest
Not by much...
John Erichsen
Roar Guru
Katich may grab the coaching position. Cowan Burns Doolan Ferguson Maxwell Cartwright Nevill O'Keefe Copeland Mennie Tremain
John Erichsen
Roar Guru
The national selectors weren't involved in the dropping of Cowan. Steve Smith, The Australian test captain was personally involved in throwing Cowan to the wolves. Smith confirmed that he sees Hughes as a future test batsman, despite Daniel being 28 years old and only having played 17 first class games at the time of Cowan's axing. Nothing like being selected on merit if Smith is in the conversation.
dave
Guest
How about we do a list?Australia's unwanted 11. Off the top of my head i'll start with Maxwell(captain),Cowan and Okeefe I'm sure we could make a pretty good team. Would Katich qualify for the unwanted?
Brian
Guest
Obviously not what you know but who. This ashes is now a sham. Let's do an integrity sweep and watch Smith and Hohns disappear.
TheCunningLinguistic
Guest
Oh, the tears of anguish and the gnashing of teeth... It's all very humorous, I must say! Paine's selection is out of left field, I''ll give you that. It would've been much preferable (to me at least) to have Bancroft in at 6 or 7 and Keeping, with Maxwell kept in the other slot and S. Marsh opening. I agree that Maxwell was somewhat hard done by and Bancroft deserves his chance, but that's where our agreement ends. Marsh has been one the form batsmen of this summer, along with Khawaja and Bancroft. Those three have shown a level of consistency that no one else can claim this season, amongst batsmen anyway. I realise that propostion is hard to get your head around- 'Marsh' and 'consistent' are rarely words used in the same sentence! However, he has definitely staked a claim this year, and his avg of ~47 over the last 4 years plays testament to that. So there!
Bob
Guest
Obviously JLT form is a superior indicator to test form- Renshaw and Maxwell made the mistake of doing well in difficult circumstances whereas Marsh was pretty well useless in India. Then getting picked for Bangladesh must be another mistake- Marsh was able to trump them in the JLT cup whilst they had to slog it out on sideways turning tracks. And Tim Paine hasn't done anything at all with bat or the gloves- though Hohns did cite his T20 form again. Obviously test cricket is not a reliable indicator of success in test cricket!,,
Keggas
Guest
Isn't everyone here missing the point. Cowan was dropped by NSW. By NSW selectors. Marsh was selected by Australian selectors for the Australian team. Last time I checked they are different teams.
paul
Guest
In reality, there are only 2 contentious selections, Paine and Marsh.Lots of mental anguish and words have been wasted on asking why they were chosen, etc but the selectors have made their decisions so I guess we can only wait till 23 - 27 November to see if they were right. My concern is more with the other 9 guys. As long as they play to the best of their ability, we should do well. If we win the first couple of Tests and neither Paine or Marsh do well, do they stay in the team as passengers or do they get replaced? If these guys do badly, do the selectors fall on their swords and resign? I'd hope they have the courage to do so.
Junior Coach
Guest
I think after an entire weekend of disbelief ive worked it out. Marsh was brought back to show Renshaw that getting dropped is OK, he will get picked again. Its the only sane explanation that I could come up with.
Bob Sims
Guest
Very funny article. Right with some points, way off with others.The selectors made it clear positions were up for grabs when the Shield games started. The other WK aspirants didn't meet the challenge. Paine now has the chance to secure the position not only in the Australian side but also in the Tasmanian side. Renshaw just didn't bat well enough and Bancroft kicked the door in. He opens but doesn't keep because to do the two is just too onerous in Tests. Marsh leads a charmed life and for some reason is a favourite of the selectors. Maxwell, who is not a favourite, has every right to feel aggrieved, as do Ferguson, Lehmann and maybe even Cartwright. For Australia's sake, I hope Marsh does well, but I doubt it will happen. Paine will surprise a lot of people. Over all, this is a good side.
Klaus Nannestad
Roar Guru
I think that point about Cowan is a really good one. It seems a complete contradictions in values to have Cowan dropped for NSW and Marsh selected for Australia. I actually like Marsh as a batsman, but it is difficult to figure out how he was selected above the other candidates.