Stanlake and Finch can use England ODIs as Test springboard

Australia’s limited overs tour of England which kicks off next week will offer gilded opportunities to players to push their credentials as not just white ball cricketers but Test candidates too.

It annoys many Australian fans but there’s no avoiding the fact that over the past decade Australia have increasingly used the shorter formats as a proving ground for potential Test players.

With Australia having lost three members of their Test top six to the ball tampering scandal now, more than ever, fringe players have a chance to earn a Test spot via stellar ODI and T20I performances.

From outside the XI Australia fielded in their last Test, the likes of Ashton Agar, Travis Head, Marcus Stoinis, Jhye Richardson and Glenn Maxwell will all be playing in England and are all realistic chances of making October’s Test tour of the UAE.

In fact, the opportunities could extend beyond those players. Such is the state of flux of the Test team – missing three suspended batsman, and with a new coach and fresh captain – that we could easily see some left-field selections for the two Tests against Pakistan.

Test selection bombshells have become commonplace in recent years, from Michael Beer through to Nathan Lyon, Pat Cummins, Rob Quiney, Ashton Agar, Nic Maddinson and Matt Renshaw. The Test debuts handed to each of those players were met with widespread surprise at the time. Some of those gut-feel picks were inspired, like Lyon, Cummins and Renshaw, while others proved to be mistakes, such as Maddinson, Beer, Agar and Quiney.

I see in Australia’s ODI squad a pair of potential Test bolters in Billy Stanlake and Aaron Finch. While there are better qualified first-class cricketers available than either Finch or Stanlake, my instinct tells me both men will not be far from Test selection if they run amok in England over the next month.

Aaron Finch (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)

Working in Finch’s favour is Australia’s desire for strong characters in their Test XI as well as the fact their next series will be on spin-friendly decks in the UAE. Finch’s leadership is highly rated in the Australian set-up – he’s captained them in both white ball formats.

The 31-year-old is also a skilled and confident player of spin bowling, which could make him an attractive option if Australia once more adopt a horses-for-courses selection policy in Asia.

Finch is also a greatly improved first-class cricketer, having made 2365 runs at a shade under 50 in the past four years. Meanwhile, he’s in the best form of his ODI career, having crunched 676 runs at 68 in his past ten matches, including three tons.

You might not like it Roarers, but don’t be shocked to see Finch come into contention for the Tests in Pakistan if his rich ODI form continues in England.

Stanlake, too, strikes me as a player who may leap from nowhere into the Test XI, although he would be far more likely to feature in the home Tests against India than in the matches in the UAE. Australia’s first-choice Test pace attack is set in stone, but Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins all are prone to injuries.

Should one of that gun trio be unfit during the Tests against India, Australia may well look to bring in a dynamic quick to rough up the Indian batsmen, rather than an accurate medium pacer like Jackson Bird or Chadd Sayers.

It was such raw pace and aggression which earned Jhye Richardson a shock selection on the Test tour of South Africa. While it was Sayers who was used as the pace back-up, the South Australian turned in an innocuous performance. Combined with Bird’s ineffectiveness in the Boxing Day Test last summer, and the dominance of their three big quicks in the Ashes, this may convince Australia that out-and-out strike bowlers are the way to go.

Stanlake, of course, has meagre experience with the red ball, having played just two first-class matches for a return of seven wickets at 21. But he’s no greener than Cummins was when he dominated South Africa on Test debut in 2011. Australia seem to see a similar level of raw ability in Stanlake, who Ricky Ponting recently said could become “one of the all-time great fast bowlers.”

Stanlake has reportedly locked his focus on Test cricket after the appointment of Langer, with Cricket Australia apparently keen for him to work on becoming a quality red ball bowler.

Outside of Starc, Cummins and Hazlewood, Australia’s intimidating pace options are limited.

James Pattinson and Nathan Coulter-Nile fit the bill, with their ability to hit 150kmh, but both men are regularly injured. Victorian Chris Tremain can reach 145kmh and is the best domestic bowler yet to play Test cricket but he isn’t an enforcer in the same manner as Starc, Cummins, Hazlewood or Pattinson.

Billy Stanlake (AAP Image/Richard Wainwright

Which leaves Stanlake, if he can stay fit, as a leading option to replace one of the Big Three this summer. If the beanpole from Queensland has a major impact in England expect to hear Langer talking up his Test potential.

The next step would be for Stanlake to shine early in the Sheffield Shield season, paving the way for a possible Test debut against India.

This might all sound a bit unlikely but don’t forget that Jhye Richardson came from nowhere to almost earn a baggy green just a few months ago. The Australian selectors love a bolter. The next one could well emerge from the pack over the next month of white ball cricket.

Australian ODI squad for tour of England
Tim Paine (c), Aaron Finch (vc), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye.