Opinion
This hurts.
Not one ounce of credit deserves to be taken away from India, who used a record 20 players on this Test tour, came to Australia, were bowled out for 36 in Adelaide, and won. In fact, at every stage of the series except for that Adelaide afternoon, they were the better team by miles.
With the upcoming tour of South Africa, change is wanted and downright required.
The time to overreact was day five in Sydney, but as the old adage goes: once is an outlier, twice is a pattern. Two day fives in a row against an undermanned India and Australia couldn’t bowl them out in four and three sessions consecutively. Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon had their statistically worst home series since their debuts and the batting order looks shaky everywhere but third and fourth, and there’s no leadership at all.
So, instead of complaining (which social media and my first paragraph have taken care of), we need practical answers and monumental change. Australia won’t need to look far for the South African series, given it was them who inspired us to do something similar after humiliating us in the first two Tests of the 2016-17 summer.
So, what are the solutions? As much as “sack everyone” seems to be the common theory, Australia’s problem is a severe lack of depth, mixed with horrific form. Joe Burns has been extremely solid at BBL level but with the red ball in domestic and Test level, couldn’t hit a lake if he jumped off a boat. Marcus Harris has had his chances and hasn’t taken them, Matthew Wade was chosen over Travis Head with poor results and the selectors have stuck fat with the bowling line-up, mainly due to no-one beating the door down.
Will Travis Head come back into the side for the South Africa tour? (Photo by Graham Denholm – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)
Make no mistake, David Warner’s poor two Tests were a result of there being no-one else to choose. Joe Burns was back home, Will Pucovski injured and no one else was in form.
Usman Khawaja’s name seems to be struck from consideration, Shaun Marsh didn’t last as an opener, Cameron Bancroft has been found out, Matthew Renshaw doesn’t open for Queensland anymore and Dan Hughes wasn’t thought about for the squad, with concerns he can’t go and make big hundred after always getting starts. Well, there’s a few who get to wear baggy greens who are doing the same.
Warner is going to South Africa – he has to. Take the time to do more rehab, get him 100 per cent fit and launch him into the first Test, due to start in early March. Will Pucovski, when fit, is his partner but who else goes? Perhaps Marcus Harris is the backup, but his weakness of his hands outside his body is killing him. Perhaps Joe Burns gets another chance, but when change is afoot, why not take an uncapped player? We will get an extended squad, but I’ll propose a 17-man squad and then the reasonings.
Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Nic Maddinson, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Michael Neser, Will Pucovski, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner.
Starting XI
1. Will Pucovski
2. David Warner
3. Marnus Labuschagne
4. Steve Smith
5. Travis Head
6. Cameron Green
7. Alex Carey
8. Pat Cummins
9. Jhye Richardson
10. Nathan Lyon
11. Josh Hazlewood
Steve Smith getting the captaincy back would cause more drama than it’s worth when trying to get some new talent in the side, but I wouldn’t be mad if he got the nod. I’ve got Cummins as the captain of this side, mainly because he seems to be Cricket Australia’s love child at the moment and rightly so – he’s the most “I’ll die trying” bowler we’ve had in a while.
Will Pat Cummins be handed the Australian captaincy? (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
From the team in Brisbane, Harris, Wade, Paine and Starc come out for Pucovski, Paine, Carey and Richardson. Pucovski at full fitness is the opener to partner David Warner, in his return bout to the country that changed his career. Matthew Wade was chosen over Travis Head and it hasn’t worked; the number five should not be throwing his wicket away against spinners with half-strokes, especially one as experienced as Wade is.
Head averages 39.8 from 19 compared to Wade’s 30.1 from 35. Wade’s 2019 Ashes was very good but since, Head has averaged more and hit a hundred. Alex Carey rates second for average behind Peter Nevill, although West Australian Sam Whiteman has been in form and Josh Philippe is very well thought of, but Carey deserves his chance.
Mitchell Starc looks fatigued, both physically and mentally and Jhye Richardson is the fourth-best bowler in the country. Back and shoulder problems have dogged him since the Sri Lanka series, but if he’s fit, take him and play him. He’s 24, dominating in the BBL so he only needs match fitness to get him through and with Cam Green taking overs (with mixed results), he won’t be bowling 30 overs in an innings.
Now to the six guys who didn’t make the side, but should go. Michael Neser is ahead of a guy like Sean Abbott due to his new ball prowess, but while his first Shield hundred is nothing to scoff at, it came when he was 30, so he isn’t an all-rounder.
Nic Maddinson has been the butt of social media trash humour while playing in the BBL for a few years, but since his move from New South Wales to Victoria in the Sheffield Shield, no one has scored more runs than him. Whilst he struggled in the Pakistan series in 2017-18, he wasn’t ready then and he definitely is now, as a backup opener, especially if state teammate Will Pucovski goes down again.
Ben McDermott is the one that will surprise most but he’s 26, a backup keeper and an aggressive middle-order bat, which is desperately needed as shown by the likes of Rishabh Pant. Only the two Shield centuries is a worry but his form this season has been fantastic; four half-centuries and a ton against India A in the lead-up to the Tests will be sitting firmly in the selectors’ minds.
Mitchell Starc isn’t on the “never again” list, but he’s looked slower and less threatening in this series. Thirty one wickets at 36.19 wasn’t fantastic and the performances didn’t improve, with single figure wickets and a half-century average not good enough and just because he’s quick, doesn’t mean he’s a walk-up start. Sorry, shouldn’t mean a walk-up start.
Mitch Swepson is the second spinner as proven by the selectors’ decisions to replace Steve O’Keefe with him for recent series. Riley Meredith is more than a BBL bowler and this is the kind of tour where you wouldn’t expect him to play, but the experience could be absolutely vital for his development.
Guys like Kurtis Patterson, Usman Khawaja (although Justin Langer has a problem with him), the Marsh brothers, Renshaw, Aaron Finch and Bancroft have worn the gaggy green, all are on the outer for form and that it’s past them at this point.
Patterson is the unluckiest one here, who’s ton against Sri Lanka was actually criticised for being “not being against much”. Hard to see Kurtis controlling who was available for the opposition at the time and Joe Root just made a match-winning double ton with key Lankan bowlers out and he’s been applauded.
The changes aren’t as specifically important as the fact that they need to happen. We’ve become complacent when it matters and with an upcoming Ashes, New Zealand only getting better and this South African tour, Australia could fall behind really, really quickly.
As Australian fans, we don’t want that and the selectors need to be courageous enough to acknowledge that changes need to be made for the betterment of Australian cricket.
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