The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

Opinion

A remarkable changing of Australia's ODI guard

17th December, 2019
Advertisement
Autoplay in... 6 (Cancel)
Up Next No more videos! Playlist is empty -
Replay
Cancel
Next
Expert
17th December, 2019
64
2864 Reads

Ashton Agar has replaced Marcus Stoinis as Australia’s all-rounder for the one-day tour of India next month, while Marnus Labuschagne and Sean Abbott were surprise additions.

A whopping eight players from Australia’s 2019 World Cup squad were not included in this 14-man group for the three-match series, which starts on January 14.

For various reasons, Stoinis, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jason Behrendorff, Matthew Wade, Nathan Lyon and Nathan Coulter-Nile will not tour.

The squad suggests Australia are immediately planning for the next World Cup, which will be played in India in just over three years from now.

Here are four key talking points from this squad announcement.

Ashton Agar is being groomed as the all-rounder
Agar was the only all-rounder named in the squad, which means he will need to bat in the top seven.

Long-term all-rounders Stoinis and Maxwell were terribly disappointing in the global tournament. Maxwell’s form has been patchy for the past three years while Stoinis has been a passenger for the past 18 months.

Advertisement

Stoinis has been dumped, but it remains unclear whether Maxwell was dropped or was not picked due to his ongoing battle with mental health issues.

With Mitch Marsh still on the comeback trail from a wrist injury, that leaves Agar to take the spot.

Bowling is clearly Agar’s stronger skill, however coach Justin Langer has long had great faith in the 26-year-old’s batting ability, the former Western Australia mentor having positioned him in the top seven for the state in all three formats at various stages.

The selectors may also have been swayed by his suitability for the conditions. Agar plays spin well, and his presence in the top seven will allow Australia to play two frontline spinners, while also fielding three specialist quicks.

Ashton Agar batting for Australia

Ashton Agar (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Labuschagne, Handscomb and Turner picked for spin competency
Australia’s shock 3-2 ODI series win in India earlier this year was built on their canny handling of the home spinners.

In recent years, India’s elite slow bowlers have strangled opposition line-ups. They went at just 4.88 runs per over across their first five ODIs against Australia this year – three held in Australia and two in India – and duly won four of those matches.

Advertisement

Then Australia changed tack, became much more aggressive, and won three matches on the trot to register a stunning come-from-behind series win.

In those victories, Australia scored at more than seven runs an over against the spinners. Peter Handscomb and Ashton Turner were key to this turnaround and so have been selected for this upcoming tour.

If Australia are to win the next World Cup they will need a batting line-up that brims with batsmen who are assured against spin.

Labuschagne is one such player and that will have helped him earn selection, along with his extraordinary Test form and his domestic one-day record, scoring 955 runs at 45 for Queensland.

Marnus Labuschagne

Marnus Labuschagne of Queensland (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

Australia may finally be taking ODIs seriously again
After years of fielding second-rate squads in bilateral series, this squad is the strongest Australia have fielded outside of the World Cup or Champions Trophy in a long time.

They have not rested a single star. Their top order will feature guns David Warner, Steve Smith and Aaron Finch, while the ‘Big Three’ quicks of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood will bowl together in an ODI for the first time in 14 months.

Advertisement

Given how often Australia experimented with their line-ups in between the last two World Cups, often fielding teams that were missing four or five key players, this star-studded squad could signal a shift in approach.

Under Langer, Australia may begin taking bilateral ODI series seriously.

ODI careers of Khawaja and Shaun Marsh could be over
In the absence of banned champions Warner and Smith, Usman Khawaja made 769 runs at 59 and Shaun Marsh 851 at 53.

They held together a line-up that was otherwise a mess for a large part of that time.

Yet Marsh will be nearly 40 by the time to next World Cup arrives, while Khawaja will be 36 – there was always a sense that one or both would be put out to pasture.

Younger batsmen need an opportunity, and while Finch and Warner are the same age as Khawaja, the former is the captain, while the latter is Australia’s best ODI batsman.

Although Marsh’s ODI career seems over, Khawaja could yet make a comeback, particularly if he runs amok in the high-profile BBL. He remains a quality white-ball batsman.

Advertisement

Sports opinion delivered daily 

   

Australia ODI squad
Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey (vc), Pat Cummins (vc), Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, David Warner and Adam Zampa

Australia’s best XI
1. Aaron Finch
2. David Warner
3. Steve Smith
4. Peter Handscomb
5. Ashton Turner
6. Alex Carey (wk)
7. Ashton Agar
8. Pat Cummins
9. Mitchell Starc
10. Adam Zampa
11. Josh Hazlewood

Fixtures
First ODI – January 14, Mumbai
Second ODI – January 17, Rajkot
Third ODI – January 19, Bengaluru

close