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A year ago Trevor Hohns, Greg Chappell, Mark Waugh and Darren Lehmann selected a four-man attack to regain the Ashes at home with a thumping 4-nil victory in the five-Test series.
Pacemen Pat Cummings (23), Mitchell Starc (22), and Josh Hazelwood (21), joined offie Nathan Lyon (21) to capture all 87 English wickets.
They bowled 810.4 overs between them.
Starc missed the fourth Test with a heel injury, and was replaced by Jackson Bird who bowled 30 wicketless overs, while Mitchell Marsh’s 32, and Steve Smith’s four wicketless overs were the only other bowlers used in the entire series.
It was a marathon performance by the quality quartet.
Next week in Adelaide Hohns, Chappell and Justin Langer are obviously hoping the quartet can repeat last years effort in the first of four Tests against India.
But there are three massive differences in the two series.
There’s no Steve Smith who cracked 687 runs against England at 137.40 with three centuries and two half-centuries. Australia will also miss David Warner’s 441 at 63, with a century and three 50s.
Secondly, India is the world’s number one ranked Test side, and the four-man Australian attack is a year older.
Just to underline the selector’s obsession with pace, the current 14-man Australian squad has Mitchell Marsh and his half-track medium-pacers, plus veteran Peter Siddle, who turned 34 five days ago, and 27-year-old debutant Chris Tremain – making six pacemen all up.
But there’s no spinning back-up for Lyon, unless you include two part-time at best left-armers in Aaron Finch, and Travis Head.
Nothing there to make the long Indian batting order even blink.
So Australia’s chances will rely heavily on Cummins, Starc, Hazelwood and Lyon staying fit, and firing, for the entire series.
That’s a big ask given Australia’s track record with pacemen breaking down.
So a golden opportunity to include leggies Adam Zampa, or Mitchell Swepson, in the squad has been overlooked.
Zampa’s the best bet with 53 shorter format internationals to his credit.
In 33 ODIs the 26-year-old has captured 42 wickets at 36.85, and 22 wickets in 20 T20s at a very impressive 18.27.
The naysayers will contend none of those stats mean a dot in five-dayers, but success at any level breeds confidence.
The pressure will be on Mitch Starc (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
Look what Pakistani leggie Yasir Shah has achieved.
He debuted in a ODI in 2011, and has career figures of just 19 wickets in 19 starts to average 42.47.
Given his Test chance in 2014 against Australia in Dubai, Yasir grabbed 3-66 off 16.3, and 4-50 off 25.
Last time out against the Black Caps in Dubai he had match figures of 14-183, second only to the current Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s 14-116.
That’s given Yasir 195 wickets in 32 Tests at 28.23.
Who is to say Adam Zampa can’t be a better Test performer than the shorter formats?