The shoulder injury to young quick Jhye Richardson may create an Ashes opportunity for Queensland swing bowler Michael Neser, who is fresh from a career-best Sheffield Shield season.
Australia made the mistake on recent Ashes tours of not picking a specialist swing bowler to exploit the English Dukes ball, which offers far more movement through the air than the Kookaburra.
While their batting line-up was undone time and again by the canny swing of English veteran James Anderson, Australia used aggressive, express quicks like Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc.
Neither of those Australian bowlers proved to be well suited to the conditions in England, where accuracy and swing are more effective than speed and bounce.
Australia surely this time around will select their fast bowlers based on their suitability to English conditions. Richardson, despite never having played a first-class match in the UK, certainly appears to be the kind of paceman who should prosper there.
Jhye Richardson (centre) of Australia appeals unsuccessfully for the wicket of Dimuth Karunaratne of Sri Lanka during day one of the First Test match between Australia and Sri Lanka at The Gabba in Brisbane, Thursday, January 24, 2019. (AAP Image/Darren England)
In his debut Test series against Sri Lanka this summer, the 22-year-old operated with wonderful precision and swung the ball further and more consistently than any Aussie Test quick has for years.
If he is fit and in form Richardson may well deserve a spot in Australia’s starting XI for the Ashes, perhaps ahead of either Starc or Josh Hazlewood.
But Richardson first has to make a comeback from a serious injury, having dislocated his shoulder while fielding in the ODIs in the UAE this month.
If Richardson does not recover smoothly from this issue then it is Neser who should take his place as the specialist swing bowler in Australia’s Ashes squad.
The 29-year-old Neser has made a name for himself as a wizard with the Dukes ball, having taken 54 wickets at 20 with that ball over the past three Sheffield Shield seasons.
The Dukes has been used in the second half of each of those seasons and this has corresponded with Neser’s best bowling form.
A natural swing bowler, Neser can get the Dukes to hoop in both directions, a rare skill among current Australian quicks. Neser’s only direct competitors, in terms of this specific skill, are Richardson and South Australians Chadd Sayers and Daniel Worrall.
But neither Sayers nor Worrall have the same momentum as Neser at this point, for different reasons. Worrall missed most of the second half of the Shield season due to a hamstring injury, while Sayers’ first-class form has plummeted in the past two years.
After long dominating with the red ball, Sayers has taken just 36 wickets at 34 in that time. In this same period Sayers made an uninspiring Test debut in South Africa.
Granted, it was the fourth Test and Australian cricket has just been ripped apart by the ball tampering scandal in the previous match. Sayers, however, just did not look like a Test bowler.
The most damning aspect of his performance was that he did not bowl badly – he was very accurate and frugal, operating just like he does at Shield level.
His style just did not translate to Test level, with the South African batsmen looking at complete ease against his gentle swingers, as he bowled mostly in the 118-125kmh range.
Sayers was brought in to the Test team to replicate the bowling of South African Vernon Philander. It wasn’t to be. While Philander took 9-51 in that Test, Sayers managed just 2-146 and was the most unthreatening bowler from either team.
Aside from recent bowling form, Neser also has one crucial attribute Sayers and Worrall don’t – generous batting ability.
The Queenslander has become a genuine all-rounder over the past three years, making 1,163 runs at 31 in that time, including 10 fifties. With England boasting the strongest tail in Test cricket, the Australian selectors may well take into account the collective batting ability of any bowling attack they choose.
So Neser’s talent with the blade, coupled with his sensational stats using the Dukes ball, make him a very attractive option for the Ashes.
Paul
Roar Guru
There were some good signs in that last Test for Starc, where he seemed to have found both confidence and rhythm - then he got injured!! Hopefully this time he only comes back when he's fully fit and if that means missing the WC to play in the Ashes, so be it.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
He certainly went through some periods where the seam was coming out pretty scrambled, and would struggle to swing. I must admit though, on that respect I thought he started the summer very well as far as his release and wrist position were concerned, and he was getting very good seam position. The Kookaburra still wasn't swinging much though.
JamesH
Roar Guru
Yeah, Copeland seems the obvious omission from the list of guys who can swing it both ways.
Rellum
Roar Guru
Pattinson also gets it to go both ways does he not? Worrall is just a gun bowler when on form. As you say Neser’s batting would probably get him the gig. Sayers time is passed.
Sgt Pepperoni
Roar Rookie
Nope, genuine
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Thanks (or were you tongue in cheek?)
Don
Roar Rookie
Or maybe he needs someone to work one side of the ball over for him?
Paul
Roar Guru
I remember some commentary when Starc was playing Sri Lanka and it was either Waqar or Wasim who felt Starc had changed his action to compensate for the injuries he'd been carrying. This had resulted in that loss of swing you mentioned. He needs to get that back in a hurry, otherwise I'd question whether he should be included in the squad. If he's going to bowl 90 mile an hour straight balls without the threat of swing, that's cannon fodder for the top bats in the World Cup.
Don
Roar Rookie
A few of the guys you have nominated haven't moved the ball in the air since the SA Test tour in March 2018. It seemed like Starc completely lost his inswinging yorker overnight... Can't imagine why.
U
Roar Rookie
He’s an option for the A tour and a county contract. Unlikely to be in the squad though. The selectors have to be smart and go for a slower and more accurate bowler after Cummins and Starc/Hazlewood.
danno
Guest
Neser is a good trier, more of a poor mans Siddle. Can’t see Neser getting Root out, the SS batting has been very ordinary, I’ve watched the dismissals in the Cricket.com app and some very poor shots against the swinging ball. Cummins, Pattinson, Jhye, Siddle. Hazlewood 12th. Don’t select Starc, he isn’t suited to English conditions and leaks runs so no pressure can be applied from either end. Don’t auto select Lyon. Poms no longer have Swann so pitches will be green tops to suit Anderson/Broad/Wood/Stokes and Smith/Head can bowl a few overs.
Simoc
Guest
Well he won't get picked so you'll never know.
Sgt Pepperoni
Roar Rookie
Nice balanced comment DaveJ
Sgt Pepperoni
Roar Rookie
'if Pattinson gets through the county season and the Australian A games without injury, it’s almost certain he will be destroying batting sides. If that is the case, I don’t think there is too much doubt on him playing the first test' Agree with everything up to the last sentence. Getting into the test team and getting others out is not easy and doesn't go to the most deserving. The selectors seem to want to prove that they were right to begin with. Hope you're right tho. Would be great to see
Sgt Pepperoni
Roar Rookie
Good to know that one test was enough to discard poor old Sayers to the reject bin. At this rate we should be able to work through all the remaining quicks in the domestic stable in a single series to prove who is test worthy and who isn't That aside, a horses for courses approach with accuracy over pace is a better strategy for England
VivGilchrist
Roar Rookie
Thanks Nudge. Simoc’s comment could not have been any more incorrect if he had tried.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Interesting and unexpected suggestion. My impression this season was that wickets at the Gabba were very bowler friendly with some low scores by everyone, which tended to flatter the Queenslanders’ bowling averages a little compared to other States. Also that Neser’s pace colleagues, Feldman and Steketee, did just as well. There were all apparently outbowled by Copeland and Abbott in the NSW match at the Gabba. A quick look at the averages tends to bear this out. And Neser was still behind the likes of Pattinson, Tremain and Boland. Pattinson in particular uses swing and seam, so I would be surprised if Neser was ahead of him (or Siddle) in the picking order assuming Pattinson stays fit.
VivGilchrist
Roar Rookie
Probably cost us an Ashes series. I wonder now if they realise movement and accuracy trump pace over there?
Nudge
Roar Rookie
Na mate, South Australian. As long as they have been living in some part of Australia since they were 12 I couldn’t give a rats where they come from. “Pattinson’s not suited to test cricket. He can knock over a few shield bunnies but his best hope for national honours is the shortened versions of the game.” I don’t think you could be anymore wrong. I think all passionate Australian cricket fans would know that Pattinson’s only hope of National honours is in the long form of the game. He’s been a horrible white ball bowler and an incredible red ball bowler. And the stats tell the story. Tests bowling average 26 Tests batting average 27 First class bowling average 21 First class batting average 24 One day bowling average 42 One day bowling econ 5.62 One day batting average 10 One day batting SR 52 List A bowling average 34 List A batting average 12 List A batting SR 74 T20I’s bowling average 34 T20I’s bowling econ 8.00 T20s bowling average 25 T20s bowling economy 8.31 Not much more to add
Barney
Roar Rookie
Copeland moves it both ways and nips it off the seam...a great asset in England. Bird has good variation, Neser and Tremain to me are similar although Tremain might have a bit more speed. All would likely do well in the UK. I wouldn’t even consider Abbott, fast but unsuited to England IMO.