Selecting international cricket teams has stopped being a science and is now just a lottery, and Adil Rashid’s selection for England for the first Test against India starting on Wednesday is just another in a long line of questionable decisions made by teams around the world.
While different countries have always had slightly different ideas on how to select teams – Australia, for instance, sets about choosing its best 11 players and then chooses the captain from them, whereas England often already has a figurehead as captain who retains their place whatever their form, with the other ten players chosen around him – the context of selection was that players with the best form were chosen and the others went away and tried to score more runs or take more wickets to force their way into the side.
With three forms of cricket now having international teams and with each form barely relatable to the other, we are now seeing players with little or no form in one format still being selected in an international team for that form of the game because their statistics in another format is deemed good enough to be selected.
Just one example is George Bailey, who was averaging in the low 20s with the bat in his previous two years of first-class cricket when he was selected in the Australian Test team to play an Ashes series. He was selected on the basis of his batting form on an ODI tour of India featuring flat wickets with short boundaries. Surprisingly he averaged in the mid-20s in his five Tests and hasn’t been seen since.
(AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Flash forward to this week and Adil Rashid, the England spin bowler and handy batsman, was selected in the England squad for the first Test match against India. This would be fine, but several months ago Rashid decided not to take up a full contract with his county Yorkshire, instead deciding he would concentrate only on white-ball cricket for the season, thus allowing him to focus on being a part of England’s push for a maiden World Cup next year as well as being able to take up offers on the T20 world tour.
Rashid hasn’t played a single county match this year, whereas players like Dominic Bess and Jack Leach have both played Tests and have worked hard in the four-day format. The fact that they have been overlooked for Rashid by the selectors even though he had obviously decided against playing the longer format of the game is quite incredible. That Rashid then accepted the invitation despite knowing he would then be unavailable to play short-form cricket for Yorkshire, which he signed on for, is perhaps even more galling.
While several former Yorkshire cricketers have been scathing in their rebuke of both the selectors and Rashid’s decision, Rashid has hit back, suggesting that the county should have been supportive of his selection and that he would consider playing elsewhere in the future. Perhaps he should consider just how solid his own loyalty is before he starts asking for the same from others.
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This has again highlighted just how unconventional current selection policy is around the world. Australia’s selectors have often thrown form out the window in choosing players who they believe have other qualities that are more important than just scoring runs or taking wickets.
Seeing batsmen being considered for the Test side on the basis of runs scored in ODI or T20 cricket, which takes place on flat wickets with shorter boundaries and bowling restrictions that mean that every ball has to be in the batsmen’s zone at all times or get called a no-ball or a wide, is ludicrous.
Seeing this used as a selection basis greater than the Sheffield Shield, which used to be the premier first-class competition in the world, is a damning indictment as to what Cricket Australia has relegated it to, squeezed between international matches and the expanding behemoth that is the Big Bash League.
England this week crossed a line, and it will be interesting to see how it turns out for them and for Rashid himself. As Australia continues to head down this same path, the selections for the Test team this summer may be reflected on the success or otherwise of this very decision.
The Doc
Roar Guru
again not sure why rashid copping flak. He was overlooked for test cricket who opted to play moeen ali. He gave up first class cricket and got recalled (not his fault) and agreed to play - who in their right mind would say no to playing test cricket? I did go back to stats from espn cric info and bess has an 76 wickets@ average 26 and economy (3.1) over 22 matches than rashid (160+ matches) 490 wickets @35 with economy of 3.6. given younger and playing first class cricket i would have picked bess
JimmyB
Guest
Bill this idea that ‘England often have a figurehead as captain’ is patent nonsense I’m afraid. England are no different to virtually every other team in how they pick their captain, it’s usually their best batsman regardless of any captaincy credentials. Mike Brearley does not a trend make.
JimmyB
Guest
Quite right James, criticising Rashid seems absurd. I think England made the right call but just a bit late. As you point out, Rashid only signed the white ball contract after being consistently overlooked for selection in the Test team. I’m not really sure why Yorkshire are getting there heckles up either, they should be supporting one of their players being selected. Spinners in county cricket simply need to get better.
AREH
Roar Guru
Isn't test selection based on limited overs form just commonplace now, among all sides? Granted that the Rashid situation is uniquely different, but Australia has a recent history of doing no different. You mention Bailey, and rightly so, his FC form at the time didn't justify his place, he was chosen following 12 months of blistering ODI cricket. They went down a similar path when selecting Maddinson and arguably Mitch Marsh at the time too. You know it's reached that point when people have been pushing Stoinis' case for test cricket despite his Shield performances in the last couple of seasons.
Camo McD
Roar Guru
To be honest these days few top players play much first class cricket outside of test matches. County cricket is a bit of a relic with very few world class players there and the way multiple players who have dominated at that level have looked completely out of place in test cricket is a concern. In general it fails to give much of a prep for test cricket. I think Rashid took 20+ wickets against India last time and was then cast aside for inferior bowlers like Liam Dawson. No wonder he retired to concentrate on short form. Jos Buttler has been chosen on IPL form and dominated. I think we will see more of these selections going forward not less. The likes of Lynn and Short have been chosen for ODIs solely on T20 form for example.
Harvey Wilson
Roar Rookie
Australia are guilty of this and still do it. Warner, Watson, Maxwell and countless others got selected for the long form based on ODI/T20 form which is largely irrelevant for test cricket. Australia's mates selection policy also needs to go and players selected on appropriate form only.
Bunney
Roar Rookie
I agree. Australia shouldn't select Rashid for tests. ;-)
Paul
Roar Guru
I think we need to look past the selection and consider the message this is sending to both sides. England, though this selection, has said one of their best bowlers capable of getting out the Indian side is not one of the guys trundling in the English county championship. This has to be insulting to those players. The Indians quite rightly should be taking this selection as a panic move because England has a number of spin options and obviously they're not considered good enough to help get India out twice. Selections should be a positive for the side making them, but in this case, it's the reverse.
JamesH
Roar Guru
It was a dumb selection (hardly the first England has made in recent years, although Australia is no better) but I can't see how Rashid deserves any blame. His initial decision to focus on white ball cricket was fair, given how he had often been overlooked for test selection to that point. To criticise him now for 'accepting' his test selection now is just silly. Who in their right mind knocks back a chance to play tests for their country?!? "Sorry guys, I've signed a contract to play domestic limited overs cricket for Yorkshire, find someone else to play the tests against India." The selection itself was wrong. Rashid's decision, on the other hand, was exactly the same one that anybody else in his position would have made. Best of luck to him.