Australia’s decision to replace the injured Glenn Maxwell with opener D’Arcy Short for the white-ball tour of South Africa has exposed their lack of middle-order options and opened a World Cup door for Matt Wade.
Maxwell was expected to bat at No. 4 in Australia’s T20 side and No. 6 in the ODIs, yet he was replaced by Short, who has had no success outside of the top order in limited-overs cricket.
In his 38 List A matches Short has batted at No. 5 or lower just seven times, making 100 runs at 20 at a strike rate of 81. Meanwhile, in T20 cricket, Short has opened in most of his matches and has batted outside of the top three just once in 83 games.
He is an odd replacement for Maxwell, whose most unique skill in both formats is his ability to blast quality spin from ball one.
By comparison, it was Short’s propensity to get bogged down against good spinners which stalled his T20 career and saw him flop in the Indian Premier League.
If he is to take Maxwell’s place in Australia’s middle order in either T20s or ODIs then Short often will have to start against spin. It is not an impossible task for the West Australian.
He may well surprise me. But there is little doubt that Short is far better suited to beginnings his innings in the power play against pace with the field up.
(Giuseppe Cacace/AFP/Getty Images)
The same goes for BBL leading runscorer Marcus Stoinis, who was overlooked for this tour of SA.
The selection of Short highlights Australia’s dearth of destructive middle-order batsmen in white-ball cricket. Top-order batsmen dominated the runscorers tables in this summer’s BBL and the domestic One Day Cup.
In both formats Australia badly lack middle-order batsmen who can intimidate opponents.
That is why, for all the criticism of Maxwell’s inconsistency, he keeps getting picked for Australia. There is not another batsman in the country who can score anywhere near as quickly as him in the middle order in white-ball cricket.
Stoinis teased the selectors by averaging 66 with the bat at a scorching strike rate of 107 in his first 11 ODIs. Since then, however, Stoinis has averaged just 24 at a dawdling strike rate of 82 in his past 30 ODIs.
They may also have thought they’d struck gold when Ashton Turner bludgeoned an extraordinary 84* from 43 balls to pull off a miracle ODI win in India 11 months ago. But Turner has otherwise laboured in his brief white-ball career for Australia and is in a deep form trough at the domestic level.
Finding middle-order batsmen who can wreak havoc like Maxwell is remarkably difficult. There are only a handful of cricketers on the planet who can arrive at the crease with the field set deep, facing quality spin or pace and immediately begin scoring at a lightning rate.
Maxwell is particularly crucial in T20s, a format in which he is among the top five most valuable batsmen in the world.
(Scott Barbour/Getty Images)
In his last 30 innings in T20s Maxwell has piled up 1168 runs at 51 while scoring at 9.7 runs per over. Among the top ten runscorers in T20s in that same period, Maxwell is the only batsman who averages more than 40 while also scoring at better than 9.0 runs per over.
Meanwhile, in ODIs, Maxwell is one of only two men in history who have a career average of 30-plus while maintaining a strike rate of better than 115, the other being England’s Jos Buttler.
First crack at replacing Maxwell in both of Australia’s white-ball teams may not go to Short. Instead Maxwell’s absence could hand a gilded opportunity to the in-form Wade. The former wicketkeeper may not have made the starting line-ups of either side had Maxwell been fit.
Suddenly Wade is a strong chance to find himself in Australia’s XI for both formats when their tour of South Africa starts next week. The left-hander is an explosive batsman with the power and range of strokes to be effective in the middle order.
Unlike Short, Wade has vast experience in that role, having batted at No. 5 or lower in 60 of his 80 ODI innings. His batting record in ODIs is undeniably ordinary, yet it is also inarguable that he is a vastly improved batsman since giving up the gloves.
Maxwell’s injury may now give Wade three ODIs and three T20s to press his case for inclusion in this year’s World Cup.
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
Article in Herald Sun today says there are "elements of the CA hierarchy" who "felt Maxwell could have delayed his elbow surgery and tried to soldier through the tour of South Africa using injections". That is mind-numbingly dumb view - surely the priority should be to get his elbow healed for the T20 World Cup. It just goes to show you what Maxi is up against internally. He's continually badly treated. No wonder the bloke battled mental health issues - he's not only lacking support from CA but they're actively undermining him. CA should find out who made those comments to the media and sack them. And if anyone else is questioning his commitment and professionalism they should have their position reviewed. This childish, bullying, intolerant-of-different-characters leadership culture in CA needs to be overhauled!
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
The names you refer to and the choices available suggest to me we are really well placed for the future. If we are worried about who will replace Finch and Warner, the one thing not to do is to replace them before they are finished.
JamesH
Roar Guru
I could argue with you about whether or not some of the names you listed are genuine candidates to open in ODIs and/or T20Is Don, but that isn't what I'm worried about. The point is not that we don't have options, or that we don't have guys developing in the domestic comps; the point is that trying to introduce two new openers at the same time is never ideal. Inexperienced players benefit from being introduced alongside experienced players. That holds true in any team sport. Our middle order has been our weakness in white ball cricket for about five years now. Unless things change significantly in the next couple of years then once Finch and Warner hang up the boots we're going to be putting a lot of pressure on that middle order by trialing multiple top order batsmen at the same time. Someone like Head, Bancroft, Labuschagne or Short has played enough List A cricket that they should be ready for a run at the Australian top order whenever the chance arises. Weatherald, McDermott, Philippe and Inglis aren't all that far behind (and honestly I'd probably prefer one of Philippe or Inglis over Carey in T20Is as things stand). It's not like I'm advocating that we pluck someone from obscurity. Picking them sooner rather than later - perhaps straight after the T20I world cup - gives them the opportunity to settle into a role with an experienced partner at the other end, rather than waiting until they have another green player alongside them. As a bonus, Finch has the ability to strengthen a wobbly middle order. There isn't much to lose by doing it.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
Runs in the bank mate? Where were those? Surely not the World Cup where he played his last 10 ODI'S! He's gone, injured at 33, with no form in the last 10, time to give an up and comer the luxury of what Maxwell got 5 years ago, especially when the real ODI'S are still 3 1/2 years away.
JamesH
Roar Guru
To be clear, I still think he's likely to be more productive at the top. But Finch in the middle order plus a replacement top order batsman is (probably) > Finch at the top and trying to find a Maxwell replacement.
dungerBob
Roar Rookie
asylum?
Jeff
Roar Rookie
So it is written. So it shall be done.
G Len N
Roar Rookie
“Dearth”.....I gotta start using that word in everyday conversations.
AREH
Roar Guru
Like this. Finch down the order has been a fruitful experiment before and could do again.
Diamond Jackie
Roar Rookie
Jono Wells. In the twighlight of his careeer. Give him a crack.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
You don't have to find other openers. They ate already there. When the time is right to replace Warner or Finch, there will be planty that can step up then. We don't need to blood them. That's what Marsh Cup and BBL are already doing. Weatherald, Philippe, Inglis are all ready to go at the top. Head, Marsh, Bancroft, McDermott...even (at last) Silk are ready to go when called upon. Then there's Cam Green who looked great (apart from a few run outs). Pick them when they are required, not before.
13th Man
Roar Rookie
Had to be Jono Wells to be honest... the only one who was batting at 5 or 6 in the BBL that had consistent runs on the board.
Peter Anderson
Guest
I'll be accused of NSW bias here, but gee Moses Henrequies seems to be a ready made replacement. A cool middle order finisher in T20 and a good player of spin in ODI middle overs. Okay, he's not a spinner but do we really need another part time spinner? Head and Labba can fill that role and Moses is a handy back up seam option - which no other top order batter can fill in the current side
VivGilchrist
Roar Rookie
Are you suggesting a “team first” mentality?
dungerBob
Roar Rookie
aah, the gospel according to Anon.
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
You do by international standards. We're not talking about weekend D-graders here.
Michael Keeffe
Roar Guru
Chris Lynn averages 43 in fc cricket. Didn't have the greatest bbl campaign but you don't average 40+ in fc cricket if you're not very good.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
Langer's setting himself up to fail after successfully implementing the same strategy against his assistant in India.
JGK
Roar Guru
Turner was that guy a couple of seasons ago but now he's forgotten how to hold a bat. It's a bit of a worry when the most effective middle and lower order batsmen in BBL are Rashid Khan and Mohammed Nabi.
JamesH
Roar Guru
I think the difficulty is that Finch and Warner have had a near-monopoly (Warner's suspension aside) on the opening spots in all white ball cricket for so long that no one else has had much chance to establish themselves as a clear successor. Once they are gone in a couple of years' time (~35yo), who steps in to replace them? One of the upsides of playing say, Finch down the order over the next 12 months or so would be the chance for someone like Short, Stoinis or Head to have a stint at the top while Warner is settled there, meaning we aren't trying to find two openers at around the same time. Even if the selectors don't want to take that risk prior to the T20I world cup they should be seriously considering this scenario as soon as the tournament ends.