After sensationally being overlooked originally for Australia’s tour of South Africa, pace bowler Chadd Sayers has been added to the Test squad after Jackson Bird was forced to withdraw due to a hamstring injury.
Sayers was originally overlooked for the side as Bird and young Western Australian quick Jhye Richardson were included, the latter on his first tour.
Bird injured himself bowling for Tasmania on Saturday in the Tigers’ Sheffield Shield fixture against Queensland at the Gabba, with the selectors taking the obvious option of replacing him with Sayers.
The South Australian quick hasn’t been in the same stellar form of last season when he took a staggering 60 wickets, but he has been a solid contributor with the ball for the Redbacks. In five matches, he has picked up 17 wickets at 32.82, with his constant swing and accuracy troubling batsmen around the country.
His bowling is expected to suit South African conditions, with pitches in the Rainbow Nation often green and conducive to swing bowling. Despite that, Sayers will only get a run if there are injuries, with Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins the attack likely to start the series when it gets underway on March 1 in Durban.
Australian captain Steve Smith said it was a like-for-like swap.
“It’s disappointing for Jackson, but it’s exciting for Chadd at the same time. It’s a like-for-like (replacement), they’re both pretty similar. They both stand the seam up nicely and Chadd’s been rewarded for what he’s done in Shield cricket over the last couple of years,” said Smith.
Since being overlooked for the original squad, Sayers has gone public, saying he didn’t get so much as a phone call to explain his absence after the phenomenal Shield season he had in 2016-17.
The quick is yet to make his Test debut for Australia, but has astonishing career numbers of 234 wickets at just 24.11, having debuted for the Redbacks in 2011.
He has been earmarked as a potential Test player for years, with multiple appearances for Cricket Australia sides playing against touring nations in warm-up games, but has never been able to crack the next level.
He has had plenty of near misses though, with the 30-year-old included in a touring party to New Zealand in 2016 and being picked for four Test squads at home, including the first two of the recently completed 2017-18 Ashes series.
Full squad to tour South Africa
Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Cameron Bancroft, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Jhye Richardson, Chadd Sayers, Mitchell Starc.
Fixtures
1st Test: March 1 at Kingsmead, Durban
2nd Test: March 9 at St. George’s Park, Port Elizabeth
3rd Test: March 22 at Newlands, Cape Town
4th Test: March 30 at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
mattyb
Guest
Don't worry Marshall,the armchairs will find something. Bancroft will be in the gun,possibly a Marsh brother,Smith's captaincy and obviously the SA pitches will get a good working over whether they're green or flat.
Paul D
Roar Guru
It's alright Jake, you can come out from behind that nom de plume. I was only kidding about your dad. Great player. Superb coach. Sayers would be cannon fodder at international level and he's right to stick to his guns.
Bob Pacey
Guest
Please read PaulD above. Apparently Lehman's rubbish'cause he got out to a short ball directed into his ribs? Never would've happened in my day...
Bob Pacey
Guest
In his last test at age 34... Well done on your assessment of Lehman's batting ability champ, he'd walk into this Australian side.
Marshall
Guest
Armchair experts of The Roar rejoice. The favorite son is in! What will they complain about now??
marfu
Guest
jameswm - Nice one.
marfu
Guest
Lancey5times - Well spotted.
jameswm
Guest
Is Bird Big enough?
Paul D
Roar Guru
I reckon Lehmann made it look a fair bit better than it was. I'm not saying I'd be comfortable facing 146kmh but I've seen plenty of batsmen just get behind it and play that off the back foot down the pitch Lehmann shuffled across, tried to get inside the line and out of the way, Akhtar followed him and he flicks it in the air to bat pad who had just been brought in - again, just from observation over the years that's pretty poor for a test level batsman
Linphoma
Guest
You've done your research! Gotta say though it was a cracking delivery.
spruce moose
Guest
Nice.
Matt P
Roar Rookie
Don't quite get how that's relevant. Are you suggesting that Sayers is worse with the Dukes ball? Lukey Feldman had it hooping round corners and picked up 9 wickets, can't be too much wrong with it. My point there, anyway, was that anyone can have an off day, contrary to the brigade who stormed in to tell us that Bird was useless and should never have been picked, on the basis of one match.
Jameswm
Guest
So Sayers is better with the kookaburra?
Lancey5times
Roar Rookie
The selectors look at these things a little differently however. With Bird getting picked on the back of a wicketless test in Melbourne it was important that his replacement was coming of a wicketless Shield game. As Smithy said, "like for like"
Perry Bridge
Guest
The most recent round of Shield matches was the first with the Duke balls for this season - the first half (5 rounds) were the Kookaburras and now the run home is the Dukes.
Matt H
Roar Guru
Surely a like for like replacement for Jackson Bird would have been Joel Garner.
Paul D
Roar Guru
To be fair, Lehmann used to crap his pants whenever someone came onto bowl who was quicker than 140, so it's understandable he's been conditioned to think that's the way to go https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_YyyMAf5nQ QED - Lehmann comes out to bat, Akhtar brought onto bowl straight away and Lehmann obliges with one of the softest dismissals you'll ever see from a top 5 batsman against pace
JamesH
Roar Guru
I hope Sayers gets a game too, as disappointed as I am for Bird. If Chadd doesn't play on this tour then it's hard to see when the next opportunity could arise. I think he needs to play tests before the Ashes in 2019 to be a real chance for that squad. If most of Starc, Hazlewood, Cummins, Pattinson, Bird and Richardson are fit then a ~32yo debutant is probably unlikely (especially if Darren '140+' Lehmann is still coaching the side).
DingoGray
Roar Guru
A like for like replacement. Replace one net bowler with another.....
JohnB
Guest
A bit sensationalist to say to say there was anything sensational about him not being picked in the initial squad. He might have been a bit unlucky over the years, but so have a lot of players. It looks like Bird was picked as cover for Hazelwood (and possibly also for Cummins and Starc ahead of Richardson, depending on the pitches). With Bird out, they needed someone to provide Hazelwood cover, so Sayers comes in as more of a like for like for Bird, ahead of possibly Tremain who may have been (sensationally) ahead of Sayers if it was Richardson who had got injured.