Australia’s dramatic reversal of fortune in the 50-over format has seen a core group of players put together eight wins on the trot.
It’s hard to change a winning side and that means that Steve Smith and David Warner will face difficulties in returning to the starting 11, but there will be no shortage of other players who will feel hard done by come the World Cup.
Here’s an Aussie XI that have all represented Australia in ODI cricket in the last two years, with one exception – players who must face the stark reality that despite strong performances recently, there’s no way they’re making it onto the plane to England.
1. D’Arcy Short
The left-hander was the leading run-scorer in BBL08, plundering 637 runs at 53 with six fifties and a strike rate of 141.
He’s highly rated by many, with Shane Warne calling for his inclusion to the ODI set-up after working with Short in last season’s IPL at the Rajasthan Royals.
Short’s batting alone would be enough, but his left-arm wrist spin could offer a few handy overs, even if it is a little raw.
2. Chris Lynn
Australia’s master blaster has been giving bowlers on the T20 circuit nightmares for years, but the when he pulls on the national colours, Chris Lynn struggles.
His ODI series against South Africa in November only yielded 59 runs in three digs, and his T20I average sits at just 19.4 after 16 innings.
He managed two hundreds and three fifties in last year’s JLT Cup, but this won’t be enough to break into consideration for Australia’s already-jammed top order.
3. Travis Head
He’s been a mainstay of the Australian ODI side for the last few years, proving himself an extremely versatile batsmen who can bat at the top of the order or further down.
He strikes the ball well and has shown a great deal of promise with a gritty debut series in the baggy green against Pakistan, followed by strong showings against India and Sri Lanka with four fifties and a hundred in the whites.
His offies were often used under Smith’s captaincy, and he provides a great fifth or sixth bowling option.
(AAP Image/David Mariuz)
4. Matt Wade
Need anything really be said?
Wade has vanquished all before him this summer, piling on 1021 runs at 60.05 with eight fifties and two hundreds in the Sheffield Shield.
In the BBL he managed 592 runs at 42 with six fifties, striking at 147.
His continued exclusion from the national set-up continues to baffle, and it’s time to start entertaining conspiracy theories.
My personal favourite is that in the wake of the post-Cape Town culture review, his name was mentioned as someone who is too aggressive a sledger for the likes of Cricket Australia.
5. Mitch Marsh
It’s quite fashionable to jump on the Mitch Marsh hatred train, but you have to feel sorry for the West Australian.
Last summer he emerged from the Ashes as the player Australia always wanted him to be, with two centuries in that series. Six months ago he was named as Australia’s vice-captain.
Now, he finds himself totally out of the national set-up.
6. Ashton Turner
The man regarded as one of Australia’s finest finishers on the domestic scene in the last few BBL seasons had a spectacular debut series in international 50-over cricket last month in India, with his memorable 84 not out in Punjab underlining his pedigree.
But Australia has enough quality batsmen vying for already-limited places, and his part-time offies aren’t enough to help him into the side as an all-rounder.
7. Ashton Agar
Agar was one of the few shining lights in Australia’s 5-0 drubbing in England last winter, with the left-hander showing his serious pedigree with bat, ball and in the field.
Nathan Lyon’s resurgence makes it clear that Agar is the third best spinner in the selectors’ minds, and his batting isn’t strong enough to threaten Maxwell for an all-rounder slot.
(Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
8. James Faulkner
Faulkner has become the forgotten man of Australian cricket, and while he was once the first name on the team sheet, he’s fallen out of contention totally in the last 18 months.
He’s been hampered by a knee injury that has prevented him from getting any serious run of matches together.
‘The Finisher’ showed glimpses of what once earned him that moniker with three final-over sixes against the Scorchers to win a game for the Hurricanes this summer, but his injury woes make him too much of a liability.
9. Michael Neser
Michael Neser has been the cricket hipster’s player of the summer.
He continues to impress in the Sheffield Shield, with last season’s 37 wickets followed by 33 wickets at 23 this season.
He also managed 481 runs at 43 with the bat, including five half-centuries batting at seven.
He’s a genuine bowling all-rounder, but had a desperate international debut last year, managing just two wickets in two matches against England at 60, and with an economy rate of 7.2.
10. James Pattinson
One of the best bowlers in the world on his day, Pattinson is another who has struggled with injury.
He’s had tremendous success in England in recent county seasons and has got plenty of the fire in him that is needed for a fast bowler.
He’s no slouch with the bat either, but he won’t find his way to the top of the pile of Australian fast bowlers with Mitch Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazelwood, Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye and Jason Behrendorff all ahead of him.
Don’t discount him from the Ashes, though.
11. Billy Stanlake
‘Big Billy’ is showing promise and continues to develop as a player.
He appeared in many fans’ 2018 T20I team of the year after a string of impressive performances against England, Pakistan and Zimbabwe.
He lacks a distinguishing feature compared to the other quicks, with his raw pace matched by Starc, and his skill level still not at the level it needs to be to force his way in.
12. Peter Siddle
One of the nicest blokes in Australian cricket, Siddle made an unlikely return to national colours over the summer.
He last played domestic 50-over cricket in 2017, where he took nine wickets in seven matches with a miserly economy rate of just 3.95.
He’s an accomplished wielder of the red Dukes ball, but that will do little to aid his case to play with the white Kookaburra come June 1.
Peter Warrington
Guest
Lynn has a 43 FC but is out the door on 4 - 4! - career ODIs. Bah. I picked him in my squad.
Peter Warrington
Guest
No place for Smith?
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Also, Short is a top-order player, and Wade, also, has generally been a top-order player in white ball cricket. The top-order is stacked. Hence someone like Ashton Turner gets a gig this late, because he's in there as a "closer" which is more the weaker area for the team.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Starc at his best is a great closer, so is Cummins. In the last World Cup, where teams were averaging over 10rpo in the last 10 overs, nobody could get Starc away during that period. He was regularly going for no more then 3-4rpo in the death overs. Obviously we don't know what his form will be like coming into this WC. The injury enforced break may have killed his rhythm, or it may be just the break he needed to be on fire come World Cup time. I guess we will find out in May! The scale of Warners impact on team morale will almost certainly be positive. To welcome back your most destructive ODI batsman into the team just in time for the World Cup can only be a positive to the others around him. The only player who's morale it might hurt is whoever has to make way in the starting lineup.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Wade has been tried and failed a few times previously at international level and never been able to come close to replicating domestic form to international cricket. So the selectors have gone a different direction and it's reasonable to give those guys a bit of a run to see how they go. At the start of the season most people would have considered Wade in the "never to play for Australia again" dustbin. Having such a good season now has him as someone who could potentially be considered. That's a big step. If he wants a return to international cricket he's just going to have to keep doing it and then if an opportunity does come along he has to totally nail it like he never has before.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Yes there is an argument for Wade as a man in form based on a combination of Shield and BBL, giving some confidence that he’s raised his game to a new level. But he’s not a player who is just “plain classy” based on history. A batting average of 26 at a strike rate of 82 in over 90 ODIs (lower on both counts than any of the current batting squad) is bound to make selectors wonder whether he is a risk. A List A 50 over average of 31 in over 150 games doesn’t help. I’d agree that BBL batting form is worth looking at in the absence of 50 over form, particularly for the fast scoring roles 5-7 in the order. Selecting in Tests on the basis of T20s, on the other hand, is a gamble. In the case of Buttler and Rashid they knew they had solid first class records as well. But if someone like Stoinis with a first class batting average of only 33 after ten years is picked in Tests because of a few BBL games, you are asking for a trouble. Better to pick players averaging in the 40s with a decent swag of centuries. (And please don’t mention the bowling: a first class average of 42 is next to useless at Test level.) occasion It might work as a gamble once in a while. For Buttler it was a case of bringing him back in the Test team in a non-keeping role. But they also took some comfort in his previous first class performances. But as a general rule, i
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Not much using one or the other on its own in selecting ODIs, especially Shield cricket, and ignoring previous 50 over performances.
dungerBob
Roar Rookie
Starc update # 1. I read yesterday Starc is expected to be off the long run in the practice match against the Kiwi's next month. Hazlewood might be there too apparently. No word on Jhye though.
Paul
Roar Guru
I think Starc's out of ICU and on the mend, Bob!! Apparently both he and Hazlewood are trundling in the nets though I have no idea how far along they are. I'm hoping it's a case of, "no news is good news" for both those guys and Richardson
AREH
Roar Guru
Head still has a solid ODI record; if anything he just fell out of form/favour in the home ODI series against the South Africans, which prompted a wholesale - and needed - change in approach and selection.
dungerBob
Roar Rookie
Yes Paul, the bowling is the worry. I'm hoping that Englands strength, the all rounders, will turn into their undoing when the whips really get cracking but I realise it's a pretty slim hope. We really need Starc to hit the ground running but I haven't seen anything written about his progress for a long time now. Is he even still alive?
dungerBob
Roar Rookie
Oscar, the treatment of the 50 over format in this country is one of my pet hates. It barely gets lip service. 2 weeks at the very start of the season and people wonder why we have to pick our ODI side on T20 form. There’s no other choice. The last time any of the players not in the ODI setup played a 50 over match was October 2018 by my reckoning. To do that in a world cup year borders on insane imo. .. If we get bundled out of the WC early it will simply be a matter of reaping what we’ve sown. No amount of statistical smoke and mirrors (of which there are some real experts on this site) will change my mind about that.
JamesH
Roar Guru
Head’s last three ODI digs were failures but the three before that were all half centuries. You should remove Mitch Marsh from your group of ‘mediocre’ ODI players. In ODIs he averages 36 with the bat with a SR of 93, while averaging 36 with the ball at an econ of 5.5 and a SR under 40. He was very unlucky not to get an ODI gig all summer. I think Behrendorff should be part of this unlucky XI. He’s behind Starc, Cummins, Richo, Hoff and NCN. Can’t see him making the cut.
Oscar Samios
Roar Rookie
Obviously there are some nuances to the team in various formats but CA's ridiculous scheduling starves players of the chance to prove themselves. I seem to recall last IPL that Jos Buttler's red-hot IPL form translated in to his selection in the test side, and Adil Rashid was bowling so potently with the white ball that he found himself picked to bowl with the red ball for England despite declining to sign a first-class contract. Elsewhere, Jasprit Bumrah shows that the form of one can translate into form in another format. There are some players that are just plain classy. I think for example that the fact that Wade has scored a mountain of runs in the BBL as well as plenty in the shield (and at pretty tough times, scoring at about 54) shows that he can probably find an inbetween. Is the solution to these woes to schedule more domestic 50-over cricket? I think it might be
Paul
Roar Guru
Oscar, please don't worry about Warner's attitude. He'll be on his best behavior throughout the English summer and I'm sure he'll be well supported by his team mates and CA management. All he has to do is come back and make a stack of runs and any issues about morale will disappear.
Sgt Pepperoni
Roar Rookie
What's wrong with form or records in the shield or bbl? Hasnt been any 50 over cricket for ages if you're not already in the squad. Turner was basically picked on bbl form and that turned out alright
Lahiru Nadeeka
Guest
I am having a sympathy just only towards Wade, Short and Turner. The other eight players are just only mediocre players in this format. Lynn doesn't have even a single fifty in his Odi career and when did Head score his last Odi half century? Though Pattinson is a good test bowler his Odi bowling average is over 40. The writer of the article has forgotten about the anger of the Australian people during the Odi series against about the inclusion of Siddle. Billy is a nice bowler but his lack of consistency is a huge matter. Australia should weep about the way they missed Michael Nesser. Australia could have had a player like Shaun Pollock if Australia gave enough opportunities to for him. Ashton Agar should improve his bowling and batting to join with the Australian odi team because the time of southpaw orthodox bowlers are gone now.
Graham
Guest
Indeed Carey at the moment unbalances the squad so long as stoinis is struggling to be a finisher
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
It’s a worthy list but the rationale is littered with arguments based on success in the Shield or BBL. We are picking a team for the ODI World Cup, yet you refer to what the likes of Wade, Neser, Pattinson and Siddle have done in first class cricket, or what Short, Turner and Stanlake have done in the BBL. I suppose it’s not as bad as saying Stoinis should be in the Test because of a good BBL season. It just doesn’t automatically translate. Would have been better to mention that Short had a great JLT Cup, and while he didn’t set the world on fire, perhaps didn’t get enough chances in the ODI team to make his case. Or explain why it was obvious that Wade deserved another chance despite a less than stellar ODI and List A record. (My own gut feeling is he might be a better bet to score quickly at 7 than Carey, but it’s not an open and shut case.) ———— ——————————————————— You explain yourself why Siddle missed out – he’s hardly unlucky. Head wasn’t too bad in the ODI team, but his record since the beginning of the 2017-18 season was ordinary- only averaged 28 in 12 games. All the current contenders (except Smith! and Stoinis) have averaged in the high 30s and above since then.
Paul
Roar Guru
Our team is what I would term a balanced side. That is, we have traditional batsmen & bowlers who need to do their individual jobs if the side as whole is to succeed. Englands team is completely different - 3 batsmen, 2 batsmen keepers, one specialist bowler and a bunch of ODI allrounders. They bat down to 9 or 10 and have at least 6 guys who can bowl. Ditto to a lesser degree with India, South Africa & New Zealand. The more guys who can both bat & bowl, the greater the chances one or more will do well in a game. In our case, we'll really struggle with the 5th bowler, so the other 4 will need to be better than just good and this is where I see as problem. Cummins, Zampa and J Richardson are in "better than just good" form, but that's it. We're hoping Starc can repeat his 2015 WC heroics, we're hoping Hazlewood can live up to his current ICC ODI ranking and we're hoping NCN can come good with both bat and ball, because if they don't, we're going to regularly chasing totals well in excess of 300 and the chances of us winning the Cup if we have to do that are zero.