The Australian cricket team batted well during Tuesday’s ODI against India, and towards the end of the Australian innings it looked like the home side were on target for at least 320.
However, following the dismissals of Glenn Maxwell and Shaun Marsh, Australia were able to get to only 298. Another 20 runs could’ve won them the game.
Australia clearly need an all-rounder to bat at eight in the ODI team to bolster the batting line-up. Here’s a look at some of the options.
ODI record
Batting: 1032 runs at 34.40, strike rate of 104.26.
Bowling: 96 wickets at 30.65, economy of 5.53.
List A record
Batting: 1936 runs at 30.25, strike rate of 91.45.
Bowling: 168 wickets at 30.36, economy of 5.35.
Four years ago James Faulkner was one of the stars of Australian cricket and was the man of the match in the 2015 World Cup final. He lost his national contract at the end of the 2016-17 season and was recalled for two ODIs in late 2017 but hasn’t played for Australia since.
He missed the JLT Cup because of injury but has bowled fairly well for the Hurricanes in the Big Bash League, taking ten wickets at 20.10 going at 8.04 runs an over. He has had limited opportunities with the bat because of the quality of the Hurricanes top order. Faulkner deserves another chance to play for Australia.
ODI record
Batting: 8 runs at 4, strike rate of 50.
Bowling: 2 wickets at 60, economy of 7.2.
List A record
Batting: 567 runs at 23.62, strike rate of 84.88.
Bowling: 49 wickets at 36.61, economy of 5.33.
Neser made his ODI debut during Australia’s tour of England in June and did not perform, although he was probably picked because of his Sheffield Shield form, not his one-day form, which isn’t particularly good. He isn’t a realistic option for the Australian one-day team.
ODI record
Batting: 144 runs at 20.57, strike rate of 86.74.
Bowling: 8 wickets at 51.75, economy of 5.75.
List A record
Batting: 603 runs at 23.19, strike rate of 93.19.
Bowling: 47 wickets at 34.95, economy of 5.02.
Ashton Agar has been around the Australian one-day team for a number of years but has never really had an opportunity to cement a spot. He has got a good economy rate but doesn’t take enough wickets to be considered a frontline spinner. Agar should only play if Australia play two spinners.
List A record
Batting: 152 runs at 38, strike rate of 116.92.
Bowling: 9 wickets at 22.44, economy of 5.13.
Sams made his one-day debut for New South Wales only this season and made an immediate impression, making two 50s from his four innings. He also took nine wickets. He is definitely a player Australia should consider picking.
List A record
Batting: 471 runs at 31.40, strike rate of 78.50.
Bowling: 29 wickets at 30.31, economy of 5.53.
In 2016 Cameron Valente was the leading wicket-taker in the one-day cup and also scored a century. He scored another century in 2017 but struggled in 2018. Remarkably Valente hasn’t been picked in an Australian squad or even an Australia A squad. Valente shouldn’t be picked to play for Australia at the moment but is certainly worth picking in an Australia A squad.
David
Guest
Based on current form my team would be. Bancroft (wk) Maxwell. Remember t20 as opener Khawaja S Marsh Finch Stoinis Turner Cummings Stark Agar Hazelwood
Peter Warrington
Guest
they should pick him to open based on tonight's audition!
anon
Roar Pro
I agree about averages. Bevan was one of our greatest ODI players, but the average was inflated a little by not getting out. Maxi sacrifices his wickets all the time. He never plays to be not out at the end of the innings. Plus he's a 41 average FC batsman. Khawaja averages 43 at FC level. There's nothing in it between Maxi and Khawaja, except that Maxi is 50% more efficient.
Peter Warrington
Guest
yes, me too. but if the phone rang...
The Bush
Roar Guru
Has retired from all international cricket...
JamesH
Roar Guru
Agar should be playing, together with a second spinner (ideally Zampa). The batting looks a lot deeper with Agar at 8.
Peter Warrington
Guest
Watson?
The Bush
Roar Guru
The problem with Faulkner is that his bowling seemed to be found out by the time he was dropped. I don't know if he's made enough changes, but he was a liability as a front line bowler last time he was selected. His batting also seemed to drop off a cliff - hey played 17 games in 2016, batting 12 times but averaged 17 and only went at a strike rate of 80. Not exactly top shelf stuff. He didn't even play this JLT Cup from memory... I don't think we can go back to Faulkner. I don't think Neser hits em hard enough to fulfill the role we actually want out of our number 8. Agar strikes much closer to 100 in List A cricket than Neser, so he's much more likely to get the job done at number 8. His bowling at ODI level hasn't set the world on fire, but his List A record suggests he can get a job done - just not as the front line spinner. Plus Agar's fielding is top shelf.
The Bush
Roar Guru
You have to be careful with batting averages in ODI cricket - they're not as representative as they are in test cricket. There is no way Stoinis with a batting average in the 40s, is as good as Shane Watson (for example). It's just that Stoinis gets to enjoy plenty of not outs at the end of the innings and Watson gets to enjoy basically none. Faulkner is a great example of a deceptive batting average - he was averaging in the 40s after his first two years or so in the team, because he was benefiting from coming in behind a good line up and getting plenty of not outs. As the team declined and he was forced to do more batting, his average dropped off quickly. Maxwell and Khawaja don't play the same type of game, so I don't think you can compare them. If Khawaja got a decent run in the side, based on his List A performances, he'd likely average closer to 40 (compared to Maxi's 32), but he'll never strike them like Maxwell.
The Bush
Roar Guru
There is almost no bowling unit in ODI cricket that is routinely capable of defending 300 in the modern game (against good sides). Maybe Ronan has some stats on this though...
Matt H
Roar Guru
Other options are Cameron Green and NCN. Ben cutting was tried in the past but didn’t cut it. It’s important not to weaken our bowling as a result. Not much point adding another 20 if we lose thirty. I’ve not seen Sams’ bowling but his stats from a small sample size look good. Faulkner’s form for Australia fell of a cliff and I’m not sure he’s done anything to indicate he will be better. His bowling became too predictable and he was being belted around, while his batting slowed significantly. Richardson is a capable bat but failed in this one. He’s at the level of Cummins and Starc.
Matt H
Roar Guru
Is Cummins a particularly fast scorer, or one who can score at a decent rate straight away?
Phillip
Guest
Not alot of thought went into this one but yes we need someone(s) to bat 8 who can launch for a few overs at the end. Two names come to mind, Christian from the Vics though not a long term choice while a better option is Pattinson who's batting has gone up a gear. The latter of the two should've played this series but the all knowing wisdom of the selecters thought otherwise and Pattinson soon after picked up that side strain sadly. Even if Starc was selected the trash he's been bowling would counter any runs he would make
anon
Roar Pro
No, we need to bolster our batting line up getting our selections right. Finch is woefully out of form and needs a domestic stint to sort himself out. We don't need Carey. We have Handscomb or can have Wade keep. Maxwell needs to move up the order. He averages the same as Khawaja but has a strike rate that is 50% better. He's a better ODI batsman than Khawaja. End of story. Batting him at #7 is dumb. You want your best batsmen to face as many balls as possible and to build a big innings. Stoinis is the perfect late order batsman because he can't hit singles or 2's. He can only block or slog. If you let Stoinis come in at the 40th over he usually chews up a couple overs worth of dot balls and allows things to stagnate. You need him looking to hit every ball out of the park.
El Loco
Roar Rookie
It was certainly glaring yesterday, all the more because we have a fully fledged batsman at number seven. So it wasn't so much a gradual tumble into the tail but like falling off a precipice. Cummins and Starc would probably be sufficient in the circumstances yesterday where they'd just need to smite a few boundaries. But for anything more substantial, say surviving ten or so overs, or coming in with 60-70 to win, it's a real problem area. That said, if we could find a bowling unit routinely capable of defending 300 I'd worry less about a number eight who can bat.
Smiggle Jiggle
Roar Guru
What about Cummins?