The cricket season has officially started, with the announcement of the Test team to tour UAE against Pakistan, and already the selectors have ticked me off.
First off, the selectors named a 15-man squad, but the media have come out saying “Justin Langer has named his first Test squad”.
I know the coach is one of the selectors – and that is still wrong, but an argument for another day – but there is more than one selector, and Langer isn’t even the chairman.
The batsmen pretty much selected themselves, especially with the advance notice that Aaron Finch and Marnus Labuschagne were more or less locks at the selection table.
Matt Renshaw, Usman Khawaja and the Marsh brothers were always going, and it is good to see Travis Head get his chance. But there have to be questions asked about overlooking the three batsmen who were sent to South Africa that are now superfluous to the squad.
Peter Handscomb perhaps just doesn’t have the form on the board, but Glenn Maxwell did nothing wrong last year in India and Bangladesh, yet hasn’t been sighted since. There’s more to this than is being said publicly. Labuschagne was preferred for Maxwell’s spot, and to be fair, he does have the kind of temperament that the ‘new Australia’ is probably looking for.
Joe Burns has again been treated like crap – given one Test after flying in just two days before the match on the heels of a stellar Shield season, but was not required for the next tour.
Joe Burns (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
Aaron Finch is going to be the main beneficiary of David Warner’s exile. He must be odds-on to become ODI captain and lead Australia to next year’s World Cup, and now on white-ball form almost alone he has found his way into the Test squad.
I hope he succeeds, but see the same deficiencies in his defensive technique that are likely to be exposed in Test cricket.
So, will he open alongside Renshaw or will he slot into the middle order, with Khawaja opening and Shaun Marsh at three perhaps? Whatever happens, he has the opportunity now to lock down his place for years to come.
I haven’t seen enough of Brendan Doggett or Michael Neser, but if either is more deserving of a place in this squad than Chris Tremain, I am an extremely bad judge (that is quite possible).
I saw bits and pieces of both in last season’s BBL and the Shield games streamed on CA app, and while they look handy they didn’t seem to be anywhere near ready for this step.
Tremain, on the other hand, has topped the Shield aggregates for the past two seasons, and when I’ve seen him up close at the SCG he is frightening. Along with pretty good returns in the recent A tour in India, I cannot believe he is not in the team to open the bowling with Starc.
It is a staggering decision, given they have also recalled Peter Siddle.
Peter Siddle celebrates a wicket. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)
Siddle, the ‘People’s Champ’, has had a great season In English County cricket, taking plenty of wickets and doing a great job for his county. But that has been on seaming wickets in helpful conditions with a Dukes ball.
Australia is going to the UAE, where they’ll play on dead wickets in 40-degree heat. No help there.
Is Siddle the best option for those conditions? Is he just going because the team needs an experienced campaigner? I don’t know, and while I am not completely against his selection in the squad, I wonder if he is going to be just carrying baggage.
Three spinners have been chosen, and the selectors aren likely to play all three, while relying on Ashton Agar’s improving batting to act as an all-round option.
The wickets will dictate what the balance is, but given Australia has struggled to score, they will be look to get runs from wherever they can. Nathan Lyon will be the fulcrum of the attack, but as to whether Jon Holland or Agar or both play will be another selection crucial to the outcome of the series.
Tim Paine retains the wicketkeeper’s role and the captaincy, though his holding of either role in six months’ is still up for debate, so Paine will be looking to not only continue his clean keeping, but also keep adding to his run tally – and better yet, win the series!
What does this squad say about the direction the leaders of the team are heading? It opens a lot of questions that are yet to be answered definitively, and a lot has been left to faith in regards to some selections.
Ramesh
Guest
Travis Head's selection is good by the Australian national cricket selectors as he is a quality player. I hope he is chosen in the eleven in the Test Matches against Pakistan and I sincerely hope he succeeds when given the opportunity.
Broken-hearted Toy
Guest
The omission of Tremain, Maxwell and Burns is hardly farcical. Maxwell has done well at Shield recently, but there is obviously some long-standing reasons (probably reliability - he can go for long periods doing stuff all at international level) why he isn't 'in' with the selectors as it's hardly the first time he's been snubbed. Given that, it's not so much farcical that he's not been selected as business as usual. Having said that, I would have picked him due to his fielding and part-time bowling as well as the posibilities of his batting. I think he's better at both than Head and Finch but then the selectors have been busting to get Head into the test team even though like Maxwell, he throws his wicket away too easily. Finch is an interesting choice, they must feel his experience is good enough to help him cover his deficiences with the bat. Burns has not really been overlooked so much. He was awful against Sri Lanka on that 0-3 bashing so maybe they assume that he's not up to facing spin and he probably would face it as an opener. I don't know the reasons why Doggett was chosen over Tremain, perhaps they saw 'something' in him in the India A series . Whoever is chosen, this team is probably on a hiding to nothing as it's so much got the look of a band-aid job, good luck to Langer keeping the heads up on this tour.
George
Guest
The omissions of Maxwell, Burns and Tremain are farcical. Siddle won't let people down as an experienced pro (unlike Haddin who was picked for 'experience' (i.e sledging) and dressing room banter for more or less his whole Test career, but in reality only turned up with any sort of application in two Test series).
JamesH
Roar Guru
Maxwell hasn't *played* any red-ball cricket in the past 6 months because he was told not to go to England and was then left out of the A tour. It's like being told not to apply for a job and then being punished for not getting it.
JohnB
Roar Rookie
Let's be charitable and say misconception rather than lie, as Barling is wrong, but not totally wrong. Last year Finch averaged 35 in the Shield, from 8 games. The year before he averaged 53 over 7 games - nothing to be sneezed at at all. However in 2015-16 it was 34 from 4 games, and while in 2014-15 he did average 53, he only played 1 innings that season, so strict markers would say that doesn't really count. So actually 1 legitimately good season in the past 4 (and he's only got on the field in barely half of the games in that time). All fits with a career average of 36, which isn't too flash when you're nearly 32.
Paul
Roar Guru
Not sure where yu=o're going with this comment, Bill - "but the media have come out saying “Justin Langer has named his first Test squad”. Who are you ticked off with Bill, the media? Langer didn't come put and say "this is my team and I selected it by myself". It's simply a case of false reporting. The only selection I find mystifying is Doggett instead of Tremain. All the others can be justified on the basis of form in the past 6 months. Those who have been chosen, have shown form in one format of the game or another, while those who missed out have either done nothing at all or have not shown the sort of form needed for this tour, Tremain being the exception. I also think you're missing the point about Siddle. He will play both Tests, assuming he's fit and along with Starc, Lyon and Holland will make up a better than useful attack, with MM available as a third seamer. The guys who will bowl a lot of overs are the spinners, so all you want is an experienced guy to keep the other end tight and if he can get a wicket or two, that's a bonus. Siddle can also bat a bit so I would have thought he's a given, otherwise your attack looks really inexperienced. The Test side for the UAE probably bears little resemblance to that which will play the First Test in November but based on form, is the best we've got for the conditions.
Jack Harrison
Guest
that is a blatnat lie haha ^
Noah Barling
Roar Pro
I agree with this, but Finch hasn't been picked on just white ball form. He has averaged 50 in the shield over the past 3-4 years, so he has been pushing for a while.
JamesH
Roar Guru
You're being way too diplomatic. These selections are nothing short of farcical.