The Australia squad for the tour to UAE was announced and it is nice to see the selectors rewarding good performances with a national call up.
The selectors have picked five uncapped players for the tour to UAE which includes Travis Head, Michael Neser and Aaron Finch. Young Brendan Doggett and Marnus Labuschagne also receive their maiden Test call up.
The biggest surprise though was the omission of Glenn Maxwell. Maxwell had a great Shield season last year and is one of the experienced members of the Australian Test team.
Maxwell has played a lot in the subcontinent and his presence in the middle order would have provided the Australian team with the right balance. The selection of Brendan Doggett is a surprise as well as his first class record is not exceptional.
He has played only nine games and has an average of 30 with the ball.
Peter Siddle makes a comeback in to the Test side after two years. His experience with the new ball will be crucial for Australia in the absence of Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins.
The batting line up though looks little short on experience and a lot will depend on how Usman Khawaja and Shaun Marsh perform in this series.
Travis Head who had a great A tour to India will be another crucial member of the Test middle order. Matt Renshaw gets another opportunity at the top of the order after losing his spot to Cameroon Bancroft last year.
The selectors must think Glenn Maxwell has so far been too inconsistent for Test cricket. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
Aaron Finch’s selection is a curious one as well. Finch has been part of Australia’s limited overs format for years. He gets his maiden Test call up and it will be interesting to see how he goes about things.
Aaron Finch is probably the kind of opener Australia needs to break open the game in UAE. The pitches there does not have much swing and the new ball will come on to the bat well.
This might be the opportunity for Australia to get some quick runs before the spinners come on. Jon Holland gets a deserved recall as well as he had a wonderful A tour to India and will probably be the first choice deputy to Nathan Lyon in UAE.
It is completely not clear if Mitchell Marsh is picked as an all-rounder or a specialist batsman. Marsh did not bowl in the unofficial Test against India A, so not sure if he would bowl in UAE.
Mitch Marsh (AAP Image/David Mariuz)
The third pacer spot is something which is a cause of concern in this squad. Chris Tremain who has a brilliant FC record has been overlooked again and Brendan Doggett has been preferred ahead of him.
It is a strange selection. Tremain was the highest wicket taken in the 2017-18 Shield season in Australia. Michael Neser who was the second in the list of wicket takers last season will probably take up the third seamer mantle.
Overall the team selection has few hits and misses. The Australian team in the absence of Steven Smith and David Warner have a huge task on their hands.
The Pakistan team haven’t been defeated by anyone other than Sri Lanka in UAE for a while and this will be a huge challenge for the largely inexperienced batting side.
Shaun Marsh, Usman Khawaja and Matt Renshaw will be expected to guide the batting line up against the Pakistan spin bowlers.
The series will kick of next month and it will be interesting to see how these young players go in one of the toughest challenges for the visiting teams.
Giri Subramanian
Roar Guru
The one thing you can be sure is that Finch is not going to hang around wherever he bats. Probably going after the spinners might not be a bad idea. Looking at the reports, Yasir Shah doesn't look in good form, he hasn't picked up many wickets playing in the domestic competition in Pakistan. Shadab Khan is an ODI spinner and is not the same threat as Yasir is. It will be interesting to see what the Australian line up will be: Renshaw Khawaja Shaun Marsh Travis Head Aaron Finch Mitch Marsh (Hopefully he will bowl few overs) Tim Paine (Captain) Mitchell Starc Peter Siddle Nathan Lyon Jon Holland The above will mostly be the X1, Australia will go with in the first Test.
JamesH
Roar Guru
So would I, but Finch is actually regarded as a decent player of spin. He's less of a middle order liability than Khawaja, who simply has to open with Renshaw in the UAE.
Kangas
Roar Rookie
Maxwell is not in the clique
Giri Subramanian
Roar Guru
I agree with the X1 as Australia don't have many options. Not sure if Mitchell Marsh is bowling again or not. If he isn't not sure if 4 bowlers are enough in the UAE heat.
Giri Subramanian
Roar Guru
The only chance for Finch to score any runs in UAE is against the new ball. If he walks in when Yasir Shah is bowling, I don't think he is going to score many runs. I would rather have Glenn Maxwell in the middle order than Aaron Finch.
Giri Subramanian
Roar Guru
Here are my gripes with the metric: 1. CA says 30 plus scores have been taken into account but Peter Handscomb has higher 30+ scores percentage than Marnus Labuschagne. Handscomb also has played couple of crucial innings in Asia. 2. Another metric is ability to score hundreds. Joe Burns has more hundreds than Aaron Finch in FC over the last couple of years. 3. Glenn Maxwell probably an inconsistent player but along with Shaun Marsh is the only Australian player who is considered as a good player of spin. He has a Test hundred in India and has lots of experience in playing in the subcontinent. 4 . Marnus Labuschagne played well in the first unofficial Test in India but got a pair in the second game which Australia A team lost, this was when Australia was playing to avoid defeat. Kind of defeats their playing under pressure point. To be frank there are some decent selections in the squad but the selectors have not given thought to the main criteria when selecting a team for Asia which is the ability to play spin. If Smith and Warner were still available I wouldn't mind the non selection of Maxwell or Joe Burns. I would love to see their metric for selection of bowlers as well if they have one. It seems like they have come up with some arbitrary yardstick to pick a squad which may look good in some spreadsheet. The fact that Joe Burns averages higher than Marnus Labuschagne and Aaron Finch over the last 19 FC games with more hundreds than both of them, makes the metric completely useless for me.
JamesH
Roar Guru
...although I am assuming that logic and reason will be used to determine Finch's batting position, which is a dangerous assumption to make.
Paul
Roar Guru
Please explain what you see absurd about the metric
JamesH
Roar Guru
Maxwell's omission is just dumb. Tremain and Burns hard done by. I doubt Finch will open, as he bats at 5 or 6 for Victoria in the Shield. Khawaja to open, S Marsh at 3.
Paul
Roar Guru
Giri If you ignore the actual ins and outs and focus on the side, I think the team to play the First Test will look like this; Renshaw Khawaja S Marsh Finch Head M Marsh Paine Starc Siddle Lyon Holland Bear in mind it's a quick couple of Tests so I really don't think they guys who were "bolters" for this squad will get a run in either game. I also think these guys are playing in form, so while we could argue the merits of Maxwell versus Head, etc, this team should still perform creditably.
Giri Subramanian
Roar Guru
Cricket Australia have released some key metric used for selection of the squad. The metric looks more absurd than the actual selections.